Little Things
by Sonic Rose
Summary: Little things can spark much bigger events. What began with a Little thing in "Flirting Shadows", now escalates as Shadow's family expands. Everything he's worked for is put to the test when Eggman returns one last time. SIL#4
1. Shadow's Concerns

Author's Notes: Hi! Welcome to the 4th story involving my fan character Sara, and canon character Shadow the Hedgehog. For those of you who just stumbled in, I strongly recommend reading Flirting Shadows first. Flirting Shadows, Ups and Downs and Raising Maria are all connected. This story actually spans from the end of Flirting Shadows to beyond Raising Maria.

* * *

Sara lay in bed, resting on her stomach with her arms folded over the pillow. She yawned softly and took note of the door opening behind her. "Finally come to bed?" she asked quietly.

Shadow looked over her with a critical eye before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Why are you laying like that?" he asked as he kicked his shoes and gloves off. The gold bands stayed on, though, as did the friendship bracelet which was a twin to hers.

"Hnn? Because I want to." She rolled onto her side and looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"You're pregnant." He lay back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes, so?" She scooted in closer to him and began brushing her fingers through his chest fur. That drew a bit of a smile from him.

He pointed to the computer sitting against the wall. "You were looking at some pages on babies, right?"

"Yes...but I'm not even nearly close to term yet...it hasn't even started to show." Sara blushed a bit.

"It's not good for the baby," he said softly, putting an arm around her and lightly stroking her quills.

Sara laughed. "Oh my, you're concerned already?" She shied away from his harsh eyes, though they seemed to have lost their power when trained on hers. "You shouldn't read too much stuff like that, you'll get paranoid."

"You're reading it," he retorted.

"Yeah." Sara nuzzled against her mate and lightly kissed him on the lips.

"Is it really dangerous?" He put his hand to her belly. It didn't feel any different.

"Eh? Well, yeah...it's not like it hasn't been done for generations, though." She smiled a bit and put her lips to his again. "My momma had me, and Sonic's mom had him, and Tails' mom had him, and everyone I know was born just the same way as babies have been born forever."

"I wasn't." Shadow frowned a bit. "My being here had no…no real risks."

"You're unique." She smiled encouragingly and ran her hand down his belly fur. "Mm hmmm! Just as I thought."

"Huh?" Shadow gave her the oddest look.

"You have no bellybutton," She whispered in his ear.

"Ehhh?" Shadow found Sara moving his hand once again to her belly, though this time he could feel a small depression beneath her fur. "Bellybutton?"

"Mmmhmm. It's where the umbilical cord was. Proof I was in my mother's womb." She smiled softly and lay back on the bed. Shadow didn't know what to say to that, but his hand stroked over her belly several times, feeling the little dimple he'd never noticed before. "I'm an innie."

"Huh?"

"Innie. Bellybuttons are either innies or outies. I think innies are cuter." She chuckled at his perplexed expression. "It depends how the umbilical cord comes off. In my case, it's like a little inward twist...an outie has a bump for a bellybutton."

"Oh..." Shadow was sure this wasn't vital information. It was totally unrelated even to the dangers he'd been stewing over moments ago. Yet it was something Sara felt like sharing with him, and somehow the bizarre conversation was strangely relaxing. "You're weird."

Sara chuckled. "So are you." She lay there in the dim lighting, looking away from Shadow, but making her body somehow inviting by its prone pose.

"So...why do you want to do something dangerous like having a kid?" He'd caught sight of her and recognized the pose; she was feeling needy. Normally he wouldn't have hesitated, but knowing she was pregnant….

"Because I love you." She smiled and tilted her body a bit into a more alluring pose.

"That it? ...Umm...Sara?" He looked up at the ceiling.

"Yesss?" Her tone had taken a decidedly sultry note that made his quills stiffen.

"It's just...you...like that...we can't...right?" Shadow swallowed. His eyes dared another glance at her, the moonlight filtering through the curtain giving a soft outline to her body. She was no longer in heat given her condition, but she was no less inviting at this particular moment.

"I told you, I'm not that far along." She smiled back at him, her eyes half hidden by her bangs.

"I hate it when you do that," he said softly.

"Do what?" she returned as innocently as possible.

He brushed her bangs out of her face. "Hide your eyes. Drives me nuts."

"I know." Her lips met his again, though this time they lingered a bit longer.

"You brat." He gently ran his fingers through her quills, drawing a satisfied smile from her.

"What? You don't want to?" she said softly, her body now half laid on his chest.

"You're sure it won't hurt the baby?" He embraced her gently. He could have done anything to her and she wouldn't have minded. She was a perfectly willing mate; it must have seemed comic to her that he was being the cautious one.

"I'm sure," she whispered gently. Sara had no reason to deny him any pleasures, and she rather enjoyed being the instigator for a change. It was nights like this that had set her at ease with her choice to take him as a mate. His awkwardness was rather endearing given the right circumstances, and for the next few months, she'd have plenty to make him feel awkward about.


	2. Shifting Concerns

It had happened gradually, but little by little Shadow noticed his mate's swelling tummy. From a physical viewpoint, he knew it would happen, but from a mental stance, he was trying to reconcile that she wasn't just putting on pounds, she was nurturing a new life. It was the distinct honor of women to bear children, and though the age-old tradition had been carried on for generations, the darkened hedgehog realized how little control he had in the whole process.

Mornings were hardly as romantic as they used to be, with Sara frequenting the bathroom due to morning sickness. Pizza from Vinnie's was out of the question, as she had a sudden sensitivity to garlic. Shadow waited outside the bathroom door, disturbed by the sounds coming from within. He wondered if it was really worth it, and not for the first time at that.

"Are you really okay?" he asked as he watched her exit the bathroom. Her head was lowered and ears folded back, signaling her ill state wasn't quite over.

"Yeah." She managed a small smile at him.

He frowned in turn. "I don't believe you."

"It's just morning sickness," she insisted, trying to make her tone a bit lighter. She frowned a bit at his gaze. "It's just a natural part of things, Shadow."

"Is it going to be like this every morning?" He stepped over to her and supported her in his arms. Her ears lifted at the comforting embrace.

"Noo...it should pass." A little smile crossed her lips. "Besides, I can show you it's worth it."

Shadow looked at her a bit dubiously. "How?"

Sara took one of his hands and placed it over her belly. "This." She smiled.

Through fur and flesh, Shadow could feel something bump against his hand. His ears perked up in interest. "Eh?!"

"That was the baby." She smiled brightly. "He's kicking. Or she's kicking."

Shadow was speechless; he didn't know what to think. _A life…. A life inside her..._ His breath slowed as he considered what was behind that simple movement. It's not like he didn't know what the word pregnant meant, but until then he hadn't felt the proof of it. From the time she'd conceived, his part in making that life was over. Now he had to wait and watch, protecting her from physical harm being his only way of really doing anything for the little spark inside her.

"Well?" Sara rested her head against his chest.

He kept his hand there a while, feeling the new life test its boundaries. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really." She nuzzled him affectionately.

"It's...amazing." It was all he could think to say. Sara whirled around and gave him an impassioned kiss. He wondered at how he had even the tiniest part of his love's contentment.


	3. Continued Worries

As winter began, Sara's belly had become far more pronounced. Morning sickness was no longer an issue, but her protruding belly was making things more difficult. She had trouble standing and sitting, and certain things she used to reach for on the counters now seemed out of reach. She took it in stride, though, lightly stroking her belly as a reminder of what she was doing this for.

Shadow noticed her energy levels drop off sharply after a while. Of course it was because her body was supporting the baby as well as herself, but he thought the baby was rather like a parasite. Sara continued to assure him it was all natural and there was nothing to worry about, but he had his doubts. Of course, his entrance to the world was as unnatural as they come.

"Yes?" Sara spoke up from the couch. She'd been reading a book and noticed him staring at her.

"Nothing..." Shadow replied, looking away from her. His eyes glanced back at her moments later.

"You're staring." She put her thumb between the pages she was reading and used the book to pat the seat next to her. "Come on." Reluctantly, Shadow made his way over to the couch and sat next to her. "What's bothering you?"

"The baby," he said softly. He looked at her swollen abdomen, and then up to her face. The sparkle in those eyes absolutely escaped him.

"Why?" She wrinkled her nose a bit and smirked like her cousin.

"...You've gotten so weak..." He sighed.

"Oh...because I get tired easily?" She smiled a bit. "It happens to everyone…nothing special and nothing harmful about it."

"So you say…."

"You don't believe me?" She set the book down and leaned up against her mate. He grunted a reply, and she nestled against him even more. "You're such a baby sometimes."

Shadow frowned a bit but wrapped an arm around Sara. He saw her twitch one of her ears toward him lightly. "How are you so calm about all this?" He leaned in and licked her lightly behind the offered ear, garnering a pleased sigh from Sara.

"Because I always wanted to be a mom." She stroked his chest fur lightly. "I want you to be happy, you know?"

"I was happy with just you," he said softly, moving to her other ear.

"You're just scared about parenthood...worried you'll make mistakes and such." She smiled a bit. "Even if you were born naturally and had a lifetime to prepare...nobody really knows what being a parent's like until they actually are parents."

"You're sure?" Shadow placed both arms around her, one lightly draped over her belly.

"Mmmhmm. You can't focus on all the little things...the questions like...will he like me? What if he gets sick? What do I do if this happens? You just have to take it as it comes at you." Sara nuzzled against him lightly. "I just want him or her to be healthy and happy."

"I want you to be healthy and happy too." He kissed the top of her head. "That's what disturbs me so much... You seem so different..."

"Well...believe it or not, I am healthy and I am happy," she said firmly. "I'm not as energetic, no...so I'll need help around the house...but I'm the same person, and as long as you support me, I'll be happy."

"I will," Shadow promised. The two held each other for a long time, the warmth radiating from his love seeming to rub off on him. He still wasn't quite sure about things, but for now he was content.


	4. Will I be as strong?

Sara was getting close to term and Shadow's nerves were frayed at the edges. Putting together the baby's room had been a nice little diversion, though catering to a suddenly fickle mate was wearing thin. He hadn't minded helping around the apartment more. He hadn't minded running after exotic foods for her. It was a combination of things coupled with the false alarms that were now driving him nuts.

Sonic and Amy had come over that day, and for a change, Shadow was fairly open to having company. Maybe he just wanted a change in the routine, but it seemed to put Sara at ease.

"How do you stand it?" Shadow asked Sonic quietly, away from the girls.

"Stand what?" Sonic rummaged through the fridge for a can of pop.

Shadow glanced over at the living room from the kitchenette. "Everything. You can't tell me Amy hasn't turned into a demanding bitch who wants one thing one minute and the opposite the next."

Sonic scratched behind his ear and considered a minute. "Well yeah, but she's always been a bit demanding. So?"

"So you're telling me it's natural too?" Shadow grimaced. "Bullshit."

"Well, it'll be over soon." Sonic smiled in Amy's direction. "Gonna be a little bullet, just like his dad."

"Hmph. Why do I even bother?" he said more to himself than Sonic.

Sara and Amy had taken up residence on the living room floor and were comparing their progress as well as naming ideas. "So you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Sara asked with a smile.

"Boy." Amy beamed. "You?"

"I don't want to know." Sara smiled back.

"Aww! Where's the fun in that? You can't accessorize the nursery in advance!" Amy pouted.

"Ahh that's all right. Besides, I'm trying to be neutral." Sara opened up a book made to chart her pregnancy. "Here's the latest ultrasound, see?"

"Aww!" Amy beamed. "You can see so many details...!"

"I know! I can practically hold it right now" Sara smiled and folded her arms as if to cradle a baby.

"How's Shadow been through all this?" Amy asked.

"Eh? Oh he's been himself." She smiled slightly. "He's actually very protective. Since he had such a sheltered life on the one hand, everything's new to him and he's not quite sure how to react."

"Really? So he's being supportive?"

Sara nodded. "Yeah. How's Sonic been toward you?"

"Pretty good. He certainly doesn't mind running around for me. It's the housekeeping he sucks at." Amy made a face at that. Sara laughed in reply.

"Miss me?" Sonic said as he took his place next to Amy.

"Of course," his pink lover replied eagerly.

Sara smiled at the couple until a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. "...And where have you been?" she asked softly, moving his hand to her belly where their child was most active.

"Watching." Shadow replied softly.

* * *

Shadow lay awake as usual, arms folded around Sara. Since the baby had become more active, she'd also stayed awake more. He ran his fingers through her quills gently, sensing her state of unrest. "You okay?" It was a common question he asked of late.

"Yeah. Baby's just being rough." She smiled a bit and leaned back against Shadow. "I think he or she wants to come out soon."

"I wish it was sooner." He nuzzled against her. He held his hand over her belly, feeling the tirade of kicks. "Hmph. Strong legs."

"Of course." Sara's smile faded a bit as the kicks wore on. "Haa...maybe it is a boy."

"You sure you're okay?" He braced his hand more firmly on her belly, and the kicking seemed to cease.

"You ask me that all the time, and I tell you the same thing every time," she replied softly, her body relaxing more now that the kicking spree had stopped.

"I know." He rubbed her belly lightly, trying to imagine the precious little bundle she'd been carrying these past few months.

"Mmm...that feels good." She relaxed further, back to the brink between sleep and wakefulness.

"It will be soon, right?" he asked softly in her ear. He'd taken her back and forth to and from the MRC more than he would've liked the last couple weeks.

"Yeah." Sara yawned softly, nestling back against her love and finally drifting off to sleep.

He stay awake a little longer, making sure her sleep was sound. He continued stroking the soft fur on her belly. "Just don't give her any trouble, will you?" he whispered softly at her belly. "I just hope it's all right...having you...I don't think I'll be a good father." He nuzzled her belly gingerly, receiving a light tap to his nose from within. "Eh? You don't agree?" He chuckled softly. "Fine. We'll see."


	5. Cravings

Sara had sent Shadow off in search of cotton candy ice cream, and Maria had gone with him on the trip. The four year old enjoyed the piggyback rides that seemed to be getting fewer and further apart as she aged. Her arms wrapped around her father's neck and she cheered as the streets and buildings went by in a blur.

"Can we go on the rooftops, Papa?!" the girl asked cheerfully.

"I don't see why not." Shadow shrugged and sped up the side of a tall building. Maria's arms clung to him tighter and were now partly choking him. "...Not so tight." he said once they hit the rooftops. Maria's grip slackened, and he brought her around into his arms. The "why not" was now clear to him; he didn't want Maria to choke him on the one hand, while at the same time he didn't want her to fall off.

"Sorry, Papa." She smiled anyway, looking at the way the sun glinted off the windows of tall skyscrapers. The only store around that might have the requested sweet goods was in the Twinkle Park Mall, and that was clean on the south end of Station Square and thus far from home. It was rare they had to go this far, but her mother's cravings were a good excuse for a father-daughter outing.

Most of the trip continued in silence, with Maria drawing attention to such common wildlife as pigeons and hawks (of the non-Mobian variety, of course). She asked questions about various things she saw, and Shadow patiently put up with her questions on the way. Eventually the sprawling mall with its neon signs and tall glass windows came into view. Her excitement grew, and she wondered if she should have some ice cream too, though that was rather expected.

Shadow set the girl down but kept a grip on her wrist. "Now don't go wandering off," he said in a firm yet gentle tone. Maria nodded to him in reply. "If I let go of your arm, will you stay within my sights?" He kept contact with her hand, though he held her hand loosely.

"I will!" she replied with a smile. He hadn't trusted her in a store yet without having one hand firmly grasping her own.

"Promise?" He raised a brow, letting her know this was important. There was some assumption on his part that she wasn't listening, or at least not paying attention well enough to what he said.

"I pomise!" Maria beamed.

"That's promise." He rolled his eyes and ushered her ahead of him, feeling a little odd about letting go of her with this many people flooding in and out of the crowded mall. She could very easily get lost in the crowd. "Hey...stay close, don't leave my line of sight." he called after the girl. Sara's fear about taking Maria out and letting go had always revolved around her speed, but Shadow's only problem would be keeping track of her.

Less than five seconds had passed before Maria let fly a burst of speed and ran to the nearest mall fountain. The mermaid statue, surrounded by fishes, had several water spouts with various color lenses making them appear as a rainbow. She was, of course, fascinated by this, and the glitter of coins people had tossed into the fountain for luck. She was less fascinated by the hand pushing down firmly on her head moments later.

"...Maria.," he gave a warning tone. He didn't need to spank or slap her, just the pressure and tone let her know he meant business. "I told you not to wander off."

She bowed her head sheepishly. "Sorry, Papa."

Shadow sighed softly, having to follow her and pry her away from various stores as she predictably bolted at every distraction. It was turning into another one of _those_ days, and he groaned as a security alarm triggered, Maria carrying a copy of some My Little Pony game out of the GameStop. He knit his brows together pensively. She wasn't trying to steal, just show him what she wanted, and that meant passing the security boundaries which now blared loudly. He ushered her back into the store and an apology was accepted while security was called off over the false alarm.

The black and red hedgehog took Maria's small hand in his, and felt her tug back against it. "If you can't stay out of trouble, you'll just have to stick with me."

"I'm sorry, Papa! Pleease? One more chance?" she pleaded pitifully.

Crimson eyes fell on the midnight blue child. The ones that looked back at him were as red as his own, but the girl was still young enough that there was a purity or innocence to them that seemed to diffuse even his moods. Shadow groaned lightly. "All right...one more. We're almost to Mr. Freeze now." He gave a final squeeze before letting go once more.

Shadow relaxed when he saw Maria turn toward Dippin' Dots but restrain herself from bolting as she looked back to her dad. He nodded to indicate he'd seen where she wanted to go, and soon they were at the stand for the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream of the Future." He grimaced at the price. He remembered Sara getting them at Cedar Point on one of their "dates" before they became mates…. Back then it was 3.50 for a small cup (and trust me, they were small) and now the price of the small was an astronomical 5.50. Super-frozen beads of ice cream were just not worth that kind of money in his opinion.

"Daddy? Can I have some?!" She beamed.

"No," he replied simply.

"No??" Maria blinked. She wasn't used to hearing "no" from her dark daddy, though she'd been hearing it a lot more since her mother became pregnant. She looked at him in shock.

"We'll get ice cream, just not here," he said gently.

"But...but it's special ice cream!" She pointed. "Look! It's in little beads!"

"It melts just the same as regular ice cream, and you'll get a lot more of your favorite ice cream from a regular shop," he replied casually. He gently nudged her toward the store they had originally come from. Maria only sulked a few minutes until they went into the ice cream shop. Her eyes glazed over at the pictures of varying ice cream treats, sundaes, and slushies. Shadow mostly ignored her exuberance, though he smiled inwardly at the same time. He was glad she was living a "normal" life, something he didn't have the luxury of.

"Hi! Welcome to Mr. Freeze, how may I help you?" a dark haired human named Linda inquired.

"Yeah, I need a quart of the cotton candy ice cream," Shadow replied; he kept a close look at Maria, who was eyeballing the ice cream cakes in a display case.

"Oh I'm sorry, we're all out of that one," the human apologized. "May I suggest the confetti expressions ice cream instead?"

Shadow frowned a bit. "Hold on…." He drew his cell phone from his quills and dialed home. He didn't want to explain that they were out of her requested flavor, but he also didn't want to incur her wrath over bringing home the wrong thing. This wasn't going to be easy, so he put the mobile device on speaker phone. He kept a tight watch on Maria as well, though she was staying out of trouble. "Okay, tell them what you want, Sara."

"Ooohh...why'd you have to run out of cotton candy? Do you have peppermint swirl?" Sara's voice came through the phone, notably more irritable than her usual tone.

"Ahh, that's a seasonal item, we only carry it in December," the clerk replied, sensing that this would be "_one of those"_ customers. "We do have mint chocolate chip, however."

Sara's voice whined at that; that was her favorite but...no chocolate for an expecting mom. "I can't have that... Uhg...err...shoot...umm...black cherry?"

"Umm...that machine is down." Linda looked to a growing lineup of customers in dismay. She glanced behind the counter to a redhead thumbing his nose. "Fry? Can you help me out a bit...please?" The teen nodded blankly and slunk over to the counter with his shoulders hunched. "...Wash your hands and don't forget your gloves," Linda groaned.

"Caramel praline?" Sara suggested.

The semi-Goth employee glanced at the freezer case behind her and sighed in relief. "Yes, Ma'am, that we have!"

"Thanks," Shadow said, "a quart of that then... Maria, hon? What do you want?" The girl waltzed over with a small table tent advertising a fudge brownie sundae. "And one of those." He said a quick goodbye and hushed "I love you" to Sara before hanging up and finalizing the deal.

Giving Maria a piggyback ride home at breakneck speeds only minutes later, Shadow reflected that this outing had gone better than his epic "quest for the pistachio-macadamia" ice cream last time she'd been pregnant. Having Maria with him did pass the time as much as it wasted it, and it was nice that they had a chance to interact a bit. She still didn't seem to quite grasp the fact that she'd be getting a sibling soon, but that would be reality for them soon enough. A grateful kiss from Sara was enough to make the trip worth it, even if he had to clean up the ice cream stains from his four year old daughter after all was said and done.


	6. One of Those Days

Sara was having "_one of those days"_ and it was beginning to wear on her, as she sat at the kitchen table, gazing at the refrigerator. She didn't feel like making anything, and the queasy stomach didn't feel like accepting anything even if she did eat. The baby in her womb was constantly testing its boundaries today, particularly the few times the sky blue hedgehog had attempted to rest. Along with that, Maria had been leaving a trail of drawing supplies and ponies in her wake. It was inconvenient on a normal day, but just the weight she'd gained alone made the shift up and down more difficult. She was trying desperately not to bite her little girl's head off as she continually asked what was for dinner. Having a headache didn't help matters either, and most of the pain medicines they had were not safe for "pregnant or nursing" mothers.

At least this time she wasn't turned off by garlic...she could always dial Vinnie's and ask Shadow to pick up pizza when he came home. "Hon...please don't ask again." Sara groaned a bit and lay her head on the table.

Maria frowned. "I'm hungry."

Sara sighed a bit and drew herself into a sitting position. The baby within kicked a couple times, and she firmly placed a hand over her belly. "_Please don't do that..."_ she said softly, the girl giving her a strange look at that. She didn't feel like explaining things as she stood and headed over to the fridge. She rummaged through it, thinking of what would be quick and easy. "Hmm... How about some PB & J?"

"Ohh yeah!" Maria beamed.

"We have grape and strawberry…." Sara placed a hand on the jar of strawberry jam, knowing that was her preference too.

"Grape!"

_Always has to be difficult..._ The hedgehog gripped the jar of grape jelly, pulling out the larger, heavier container with a slight snort. Usually it wouldn't be a big deal; it still wasn't, but it was just one more thing adding to her less than cheerful day. She drew out the jar of strawberry preserves as well, deciding it wouldn't be a bad treat for herself.

"Aww...I was expecting you to choose strawberry." Sara chuckled mildly while facing her next obstacle; the new loaf of bread was on top of the human-sized fridge. _Damnit..._

"I had strawberry yesterday," Maria replied, oblivious to her mother's frustration.

Sara made sure the peanut butter was in easy reach before she pulled over a chair to stand on. She retrieved the new loaf of bread and brought it down, only for the midnight blue child to wrinkle her nose at it. "...What?"

"It's white bread."

"So...?" Sara quirked a brow. "We always eat white bread."

"Not at Sonic's house! Amy told me wheat or grain breads are better for you," the girl replied with sudden enthusiasm. "It tasted weird the first couple times, but I really like it!"

Sara sighed; _she_ should be the health nut, not her daughter. Still, that was obviously Amy's doing. There's no way her cousin would bring anything even remotely healthful into his house. Salad? Not in his vocabulary.

"Well...we do have some wheat bread, but I brought down the white." She glanced up at the top of the fridge, the other bag of bread sticking out over it. She really didn't want to climb back up, and Ash (although he'd not officially been named yet) was now focusing his kicks at a central point just below her bellybutton. "Are you _really_ sure you can't handle a little white bread...?" she pleaded a bit with the child.

"But Amy said wheat is better. And I like the taste," Maria said, unrelenting.

Sara gave a defeated sigh and climbed up once again to retrieve the wheat bread. _If Shadow were only home…._ she lamented. Shadow would be mortified seeing her up a couple feet off the ground; she smiled a bit recalling how protective he'd been of her in her first pregnancy. She put the chair back and then put a couple slices of the wheat bread in the toaster for herself. She took the next two slices and eyed her charge warily. "...With or without the crust, and do you want it toasted or not?"

Maria teetered back and forth as she considered her options. "Mmmm...just regular. No crust."

Sara paused a minute before trimming the edges off the bread, expecting her to change her mind once the toast popped up. Fortunately she didn't, and a minute later, the two were served their sandwiches.

* * *

Shadow didn't return home until late that night. He had extra paperwork to file since discovering an illegal waste dump near one of the caverns he regularly surveyed, not to mention contacting the proper waste management centers and authorities to handle the situation. He didn't mind running around documenting bird nests and animal populations, plant growth, and more, but the paperwork was always a drag. It had been a while since he'd been this late, though, and was surprised that the lights were off in the house. He'd expected Sara to be up at least, playing games or something.

He could faintly make out a couple of pizza boxes sitting on the coffee table, so he had little room to wonder what they'd done for dinner. _Vinnie's again? Tony's got to give us a special discount for all the times we've ordered from him..._ He checked out the boxes, finding a couple of slices still there. His stomach growled a bit, not having had anything to eat since lunch, so that was his dinner too.

Following that, the dark hedgehog strolled through his surprisingly quiet house, making his way upstairs. The night light was on in the bathroom and the hall, but other than that, it was pretty dark. He made a pit stop at the right of the stairs, cracking the door to Maria's room open. The girl within was lying on her side with her arms around a large plush Care Bear. He smiled slightly but wished he'd been there to tuck her in for the night.

His next stop was the bedroom, of course. As usual, he stood in the doorway watching Sara before entering. Her usual breathing patterns were replaced with an awkward uneven breathing, telling him she was either awake, or the baby was being hard on her again. He frowned a bit at that, feeling kind of guilty for burdening her like this again, even if they had been trying so long.

Shadow slipped into bed next to her and lightly placed a hand on her arm. A quick stiffening of her quills told him she was still awake. "...You okay?" he asked softly.

"...No," Sara replied in a frazzled tone. Her quills relaxed and she leaned up against her mate.

"...Sorry." Shadow nuzzled her ear. "Baby being bad?"

"Yeah. And picking up after Maria...and then she was being picky...and I got a headache and...uhg…." She sighed. "I miss you when you're gone."

"I miss you too." Shadow wrapped his arms around her and could quickly feel the source of her discomfort. "Heh...he let up at all?" He put both hands on her soft belly.

"Only a little...and when he isn't kicking, Maria's bugging me for one thing or another." She attempted to close her eyes. "I think I know what a tenderized steak feels like…."

He let out a low chuckle and rubbed her belly gently. "It won't be too much longer," he assured her. "Come on, kiddo...stop giving your mom trouble," he said softly as he continued massaging her protruding tummy. The kicks on the other side targeted his fingertips, but the kicks became progressively slower and weaker in strength before they stopped.

Sara gave a relieved sigh. "How do you do that?" She turned toward her love and slipped her arms around him, nestling herself against him.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I promise it isn't my powers." He grinned and kissed her forehead.

"Well I like it, kid never listens to me." She kissed his fluffy chest, then tilted her head up and met his lips.

"Mmm..." Shadow slowly drew away from the kiss after savoring it a bit. He gently played with her ears, which drew a contented sound from her, and then caressed her warmly. With or without the baby on board, he didn't feel any less inclined to offer her any affection she required. "Well this is a sudden shift from you groaning a minute ago."

Sara smiled softly in the darkness and gave him another kiss. "Ohh...it's not so amazing...you just got me to relax." Her lips met his again, though more passionately than before.

Shadow twitched an ear slightly. _I get you to relax, and you get me all excited…the hell is wrong with this picture?_ He returned the affection, though he wondered if she was up to being playful as the kiss implied. "Mmm...willing to follow that up?"

Sara grinned wryly. "I might. Not afraid of hurting me or the baby, are you?" She propped herself up on an elbow.

Shadow mulled it over only a moment before his reply, "Nope. Been over this before with Maria." A sly grin crossed his face and he enveloped Sara in his arms. Not a bad ending for what started out as "one of those days."


	7. Room for More

Once again, Shadow was in the process of assembling the stupid wooden crib Sara kept insisting they trade in for a smaller Mobian-made one. It was just his stubborn nature that didn't want to cross over to Mobius before, but with more and more Mobian-tailored shops popping up, he had fewer excuses. "There's nothing wrong with this" was his current excuse for not getting a new crib. An actual stepstool was placed by the crib this time.

They still weren't certain if it would be a boy or girl, even though Sara had had several ultrasounds done. She just didn't want to know. Shadow decided to have more of a say in decorating the nursery this time, however, so Maria's old rainbow furnishings had to be repainted purple, lavender, teal, egg shell green, lemon yellow, light yellow, and lime green. It was the only acceptable compromise to Sara, who flat out refused pink, red or blue decor, so yellow became the only accepted primary color. Shadow wasn't about to consider _orange_ as an option; he'd had a bitter taste in his mouth over that color since Sara's ex-boyfriend came around a couple years ago.

"Hey, Cuz!" Sonic greeted from the doorway.

Shadow glowered at him. "Shadow..." He glanced down at the screwdriver in his hands, considering how he could use it as a weapon momentarily.

"Okay, cousin Shadow, whatever you say! Sara said you could use some help?" The blue blur smirked.

His quills bristled slightly, though he looked at the half assembled furnishings and buckets of paint. "I guess I could," he muttered. "Why are _you_ here anyway?"

Sonic shrugged. "Amy wanted to come by."

"So the rugrats are here too?" Shadow inquired mildly, referring to Blitz and Rift, ages 4 and 3, respectively.

"Yep. I think they're clobberin' Maria on some game or something...Dance Dance somethin?" He scratched behind his ears and shrugged.

Hauling out the dance pads meant they'd be there a while. Shadow rolled his eyes a bit. "Well, I need all the furniture tightened up and then painted...and don't even think about using super speed while painting," he warned.

"What?!" Sonic said in utter shock. "Why not?"

"You know why not," Shadow replied, going back to tightening screws and bolts on the baby crib.

"Afraid I'd get a little paint where it doesn't belong?" he countered sarcastically. He rifled through an open toolbox for what he needed and proceeded to repair the furnishings and make sure they were solid.

"It'd be more than a little, knowing you," Shadow responded drolly.

"So why ya not springing for a new crib? Can't be about the money..." Sonic kept his face turned away from Shadow, pleased with himself at making the hedgehog's temper flare.

"It's a good crib…." he sighed.

"Yeah, maybe for Chris and Helen." Sonic shrugged.

"...Please don't." Shadow wondered why he and Sonic hadn't put each other in the hospital. They were best friends in combat when going against a common foe, but domestically they were so opposite, they were bound to clash at every turn. "...What about Rift's crib?" he suggested.

"Meh…gave that away after he outgrew it. No sense keeping it around after two, a third's like...about as likely as me being struck by lightning," Sonic commented. He was actually pretty competent with tools, very competent. It was little wonder he was part of a wrecking crew, his specialty being demolishing old buildings. He was fast and accurate at placing explosives, and if anything was left behind he had a lot of fun tearing it down with his quills, the only equipment in the company that didn't require more than shampoo and conditioner to maintain. The company also did construction, and while he was sometimes on such jobs, it wasn't hard to tell which kind of job he preferred more.

Shadow laughed a bit. "I've seen lightning come close a few times with you." He grinned, recalling a run they went on through a particular zone on Mobius completely plagued by lightning. Sonic had come out the other side with a slightly crispy tail.

"Well, you get the idea." Sonic smirked, the atmosphere relaxed for the time being.

* * *

Sara and Amy were in the kitchen, which was their typical bonding spot. The drink of choice today was milk, which went very well with the cookies Amy had brought along. Knowing Sara couldn't have chocolate, she brought peanut butter cookies, snicker doodles, and regular sugar cookies. They were all soft batch cookies, good and very well received by the expecting mother.

"So, is it any easier this time?" Amy asked cheerfully.

Sara smiled softly in reply, "In some ways, yes...others no."

"Go on," Amy encouraged and took a sip of her milk.

"Well, the morning sickness doesn't seem so bad, and Shadow doesn't ask me if I'm okay twenty times a day," she said, to Amy's laughter. "But then I still have to take care of Maria too.. How'd you do it with Blitz? He was still a little 'suckling,' as my dad would say!"

Amy chuckled. "I guess the fact he wasn't talking back yet helped." She smiled warmly. "I had Sonic tethered to the cell phone while I was expecting... Oooh did I take advantage of the cravings." She gave a wicked grin.

Sara laughed, "I've tried not being too demanding in that area." She grinned and dunked one of the peanut butter cookies into the milk.

"So what kind of cravings have you had?" she inquired idly, taking a snicker doodle for herself.

"Ohh...cotton candy ice cream...salami sandwich with mustard...and you know the latter item I generally hate." She rolled her eyes. Amy had another laugh at that. "Hmm...I think I'd like some deviled eggs."

"Now?" Amy raised a brow.

"Yes. Or whenever…I dunno..." She had another peanut butter cookie before she continued. "Mm...good cookies, make them yourself?"

Amy gave a good-natured smile. "Yes, though not alone. I forced Blitz and Rift to help out since they were desperate to lick the batter. Blitz measured out the sugar and flower for me, and Rift kneaded the dough with his hands."

"Awww! I need to get Maria started in the kitchen soon." Sara smiled.

"So is it a boy or a girl this time?" Amy asked after taking a sip of her milk.

Sara reached for a sugar cookie. "I told you before, I don't want to know."

"Come on, it makes accessorizing so much easier. I mean, you'll know if you want to go with pink or blue," she said as matter-of-factly as possible.

"I know...we're repainting Maria's furniture. Mostly purple and yellow...and you know those are my favorite colors." She smiled and ate her cookie. Sugar cookies weren't her favorite, but right now it tasted heavenly. She found herself interested in the sugar cookies more than the others after trying one. "Mmmm...these are really good."

"Thanks," Amy said with a pleased grin. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

Sara smiled. "You wouldn't mind babysitting Maria a little for me, would you?"

"Eh? Not at all. She gets along well with the boys and..." Amy's smile grew a bit wider, "I enjoy having a girl over to pamper. You have _no_ idea what it's like being caught between Sonic and two growing boys!"

Sara laughed at that. "Yeah, Sonic's a handful in himself."

"So, you think she'd want to go with us when we leave?" Amy finished her milk and stood to get some more from the refrigerator.

"I'll take some more too," she commented as the pink hedgehog fished out the milk. "Hmm...you can ask when you're ready to go, I don't mind."

* * *

Even though Maria had passed on a sleepover at Blitz's house, the residence seemed strangely quiet that evening.

"Coming to bed?" Shadow asked gently from the door leading to and from the den, which was more affectionately titled the "Game Room."

Sara yawned a bit and set down the book she was reading. "Yeah... Don't suppose you could give me a little help?"

Shadow walked over to her automatically and held out a hand for her. He helped her to her feet and slipped his arms around her. He could be very affectionate if nobody was looking. "Hmph. You didn't need my help...you just like my fluffy chest." He grinned a bit as she leaned into him.

"Well I like your chest fur, but the helping hand didn't hurt any." Sara chuckled and slipped an arm around him, walking right beside him as they headed for their room. "...Maria in bed?"

Shadow had to think about it a minute. "...I don't know."

The pair took a detour at the child's room but found it empty, a few ponies scattered on the floor. "I wonder where she could be..." Sara said, a little bit unsettled.

Shadow unhooked his arm from hers. "I'll check downstairs." He gave her a quick kiss and bolted to the lower part of their house to check for the girl. Maybe she was just in the kitchen.

Sara checked their room before searching the rest of the upstairs. The large closet in the hall was bare; the upstairs bathroom was empty…. Finally she came to the nursery. She could make out a figure lying in the crib, staring up at the mobile.

"... Maria?"

The curled up figure attempted to stretch out a bit but hit her head on the crib. "Oooh...hi, Mama." She rubbed her head and managed to get to her knees.

Sara laughed a bit. "You're a bit big for that, dear." She ran her fingers through her daughter's bangs. "Now what are you doing in here?"

"Was I really small when I was born?" Maria asked as Sara plucked her out of the crib.

"Oooh, you're getting heavy!" She laughed a bit and set her down. "Yes, you were really small. And this crib's actually pretty large."

Shadow entered the room, rolling his eyes. He'd sped through the rest of the house already, "Am I ever going to hear the end of that damn crib?"

Sara laughed a bit. "You have your own room to get to now, don't you, sweetie?" She smiled softly at her daughter.

"I guess." She looked at her mother's bulging round belly. "My baby brother's really in there?"

"Or sister," Sara put in quickly.

"He gets his own room and all my old stuff…." Maria said with a reflective tone.

Shadow shrugged. "Yeah, but you get the bigger room since you're the older sister." He mussed up her bangs a bit. "Come on, it's bedtime." He put a hand on her back and guided the youth out of the nursery.

"Mama? Papa? Why do you want another baby? I haven't been bad, have I?" Maria asked about the time they got to her room.

Both parents were a little surprised at the question and looked at each other in the awkward silence. "Well...it's not about you being bad," Shadow finally spoke up, stroking the girl's quills lightly.

"Yeah." Sara ushered the girl into her room and helped her into bed, smiling warmly. "I love you very much. I just wanted another child...I can't say why...I love you, but see...you never run out of love; you can always have more."

"...Someone at the park told me it was because you didn't want me any more," Maria confessed mutely.

Shadow instantly scowled. "That's bull--" He cleared his throat. "Having another baby isn't going to change how we feel about you, okay?" Shadow drew the blankets around her, and the girl relaxed against her pillow.

"Okay, Papa, if you're sure." She smiled, receiving a kiss on the top of her head from each parent.

"Yeah. I am." He smiled a bit and guided his lovely mate back to their room.


	8. Almost Due

As Sara's pregnancy drew to its climax, Amy was a regular guest in Shadow's house. The pink hedgehog had made herself an aid to Sara, getting her things and helping with housework. Amy's sticking around a lot also meant that Blitz and Rift were regulars, unless they were out with their dad. In either event, the common exchange had mutual benefits for both women. Sara enjoyed having company, and the kids practically baby-sat themselves.

Today, Sonic had taken the boys out, so it was just the girls at the Shadow residence. Amy was in the kitchen, working on lunch for the group, while Sara was resting on the living room couch, watching a movie from the 80s that featured David Bowie in spandex. Maria was nestled in beside her.

"Why did he take her baby brother away?" Maria inquired.

"Because she asked the goblins to take him away because she was fed up with Toby because he was a whiny brat," Sara replied calmly. She'd seen the movie a dozen times and still enjoyed the music and visuals in the Labyrinth. "See...the Goblin King is in love with the girl Sarah…." She laughed; it was her own name, after all. "So he'd do anything for her."

"Oh," Maria responded and leaned against her mother. She could barely get her arms all around her any more and usually rested one hand on her belly. "If I get sick of my baby brother, will goblins come and take him away?"

Sara quirked a brow. "I really don't think so...but even if they did...see?" She pointed to the TV. "She's on a quest to get the boy back."

Maria looked a bit confused. "But she didn't want him around."

"She was angry," Sara explained. "Sometimes people say and do things when they're angry that they really don't mean."

"Ahh." Maria nodded, though her crimson eyes were soon cast on the fuzzy belly that she was partly leaned on. She wasn't impressed with the baby in the movie, and the one yet to come into the world would probably be worse since there was no pause or mute options. Her mom was probably right about things, but that didn't mean she was ready to accept them yet. She wondered if there really was a goblin king...and if so, would he do her bidding? She smirked at that.

Sara leaned over a bit and started to tickle her daughter, as though reading her mind. "And you are not getting any goblins to steal your baby sibling, boy or girl!"

Maria squealed with laughter. "Mama!!"

Sara laughed at the outcry and drew her child into a hug. "Come on, let's watch." She smiled and turned her attention to the movie.

A few minutes later, Amy came out to the living room with a tray full of food. "Having fun, you two?" the pink hedgehog inquired.

"Yep. Whatcha got for us? Baby's hungry." The wry smile stayed planted on Sara's face as she moved her hand to her belly.

"Mac n' cheese, tater tots, turkey roast, gravy. You know, the good stuff? And green beans." She saw Maria make a face. "Peanut butter fudge for dessert if at least 80 of those are gone when I pick up the plates again," Amy said with a wry grin.

"You do that to your boys? Hold their food ransom?" Sara grinned as she tried to find a way to reconcile the food and her lap. Amy helped with that by getting her a TV tray. "Thanks."

"Sometimes," Amy replied, setting up a couple more trays for her and Maria. "So how close are you now?"

"Ohh...I think I've got about a week to go...which means 'any time.'" Sara smiled softly.

"No wonder Shadow doesn't want you being alone," Amy said with a soft smile forming on her face. She didn't mind being pregnant, especially since Sonic was the father of her two beautiful purple children. There was something about it that was said to make women "glow," and Sara was doing just that. Maybe it was the pride that came with nurturing a new life, something nobody else could really understand or appreciate.

"I really appreciate you coming around." Sara then took a bite of the mac n' cheese. No matter how old she got, that would probably remain a favorite side dish, and the first item on the plate to be devoured.

"Ahh...not a problem. I kind of crave female interaction…. Like I said, I have too many guys around me." The pink wonder laughed, taking a bite of her food.

* * *

Maria was starting to warm up to the idea of having a younger sibling. She spent some of her time in the baby's room and helped her papa pick out some suitable play toys. Sara was happy to see her taking an interest and mentioned a few of the things she might do with a little brother or sister. The idea of helping to teach her younger relation was interesting to her, though having to be on better behavior as an example to him or her was not as thrilling. She was generally a pretty good girl but wasn't sure extra expectations on her parents' part was a good thing.

On the days Amy wasn't available to come over, Maria attempted to help her mother out. At first, the girl's actions in helping out struck both Sara and Shadow as odd. Maria's idea of "helping" also cost her mother time and energy at first, as the child wasn't very useful in the kitchen or handling the larger cleaning tools in the house. With a little guidance and compromise, the midnight blue hedgehog fell into something of a rhythm when she was needed.

"Mama? You need anything?" the girl asked cheerfully, wanting something to do.

Sara thought on that while she lay on the living room couch. She was tired of daytime TV; she couldn't handle another hour of backstabbing rich people who were all related to each other falling into comas and stealing babies. "Umm..." She gave a tired yawn. The baby inside wasn't kicking around for a change, though she suspected he was just storing energy for whenever she desired a solid nap. "Not right now really, thanks."

Maria frowned a bit. "You sure?"

"Yeah..." Sara paused at the frown on her child's face. "I could use a hug, though."

Maria rolled her eyes. "That's not very helpful," she said, but gave her mother the desired hug.

Sara brushed her child's hair from her eyes and smiled warmly at her. "It's more important than you think it is…Mommy needs lots of support right now. You're a very good girl." She kissed the top of her child's head and pulled her onto the couch with her.

"Whatcha watching?" Maria asked after a bit of silence. Her baby brother wasn't kicking, so even rubbing her mother's belly was not needed to soothe her.

"Hmm…well, since you're here, how about Cartoon Network?" She flipped through the channels, finding Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi on. It wasn't a favorite of hers, as she didn't care for the animation, but the couple of blurbs of Japanese thrown in amused her. _Well, at least it's not Dora the Explorer..._

"I've seen this episode," she commented after a minute.

Sara raised a brow but changed channels to Nickelodeon. Avatar was on; that was always good. America's first real serious attempt at Japanese styled animation was pretty successful. "How about this?"

"Mmm...seen it too." She leaned against her mother's soft belly.

TV 5 was the next stop; Pokémon... "...This?"

Maria twitched an ear. It was business as usual it seemed, Team Rocket dressed up in some ridiculous outfits while lying in wait for Ash and his Pikachu. Ash was finally sporting a different outfit after God-knows-how-many-seasons. She watched a couple of minutes before she replied, "Okay, I haven't seen this one."

Sara gave a relieved sigh, then a laugh. "Pokémon it is then." She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of Team Rocket blasting off again. _It's like Final Fantasy…there's always another one..._

_"Ash! After twenty nine seasons, you should __**know**__ this is a Team Rocket trap!" Misty scolded the Pokémon trainer who'd only slightly aged since his first appearance, though he was on his third voice actor._

_"I have to agree," the current Brock added._

_Ash gave them a dubious look. "Are you sure...? I mean...they look trustworthy…."_

_"Meowth! That's right!"_

_"...And just how many talking Meowths do you think exist in the world?" Misty grabbed Meowth by the scruff and held him up._

_"Umm..." Ash responded, trying to think about that, to which the entire cast did a face-fault._

The show held the girl's interest for a while before turning back to her mother's belly. She rubbed the furry orb it had become, hardly arousing her attention. There was a definite change in the baby bump this close to turn. Her mom had explained the baby had "turned" so he (or she as she kept pointing out) was ready to be born into the world the right way. The baby had also "dropped," which Maria didn't quite understand, but Sara told her it was another sign she was soon due to give birth.

Much like Shadow had done, Maria now wondered at the contentment on Sara's face. She'd been cranky and in pain, she could rarely sleep, and yet she seemed happy. At only four years old, she could hardly fathom that kind of peace for more than a moment. She'd been content when she received a video game or a favored treat, but it was a very fleeting feeling. The young girl could only guess that something about carrying the child itself had made her smile so.

She smiled softly and lay next to her mommy, an arm curled around her belly. "I hope you're nice," she said softly and kissed Sara's tummy.

* * *

A few hours later, Shadow returned from work. He knew things were wrong from the start when his ears picked up a muted groan of pain from his mate. "Sara?" He headed over to the couch, concern painted on his usually calm exterior.

Maria looked up worriedly at her papa. She was holding her mother's hand, which was squeezing hers in turn. "Papa...Mama's hurt."

"Sara?" he needled her again; he knew the look on her face. "...Damnit...why didn't you call me?" He growled a bit.

The sky blue hedgehog wiped away a few tears clinging to her cheeks while she attempted to gain control of her breathing. "I...I thought it might be a false alarm..." She winced as the contraction finally ended. "Please don't swear in front of Maria..." she added after a moment.

Shadow snorted. He'd rather race her to the hospital a hundred times for false alerts than have the real thing happen with no medical aid around. He made no apology for the swear, his mind having a single focus.

"You're not having the baby here at home…." He looked down at Maria. "Hey, Princess, would you go get Mommy's cell phone and dial Grandpa Chuck?" he asked gently toward her.

Maria nodded and hurried off quickly to get the phone. She took another glance at her mom and dad, Sara's eyes tearing up again. "I'm sorry, Papa...Mama said it would be okay..."

"It will...just go." Shadow's tone sounded a bit rough and almost cold. His quills flicked a bit angrily, though it was more at Sara keeping the pain to herself than anything else. As her mate, he felt she should trust him by now. "Can you stand?" he asked in a softer tone than he'd used a moment ago, curling an arm behind her in support.

"I think so..." Sara's expression was apologetic as she attempted to right herself, discomfort or not. "Sorry to worry you."

Shadow gave an exasperated sigh. "You did this last time too."

"Did what?" she responded in mild surprise.

"Seven false alarms, then when the real thing happens, you don't even call me," Shadow replied indignantly.

"You kept track?" Sara laughed a little bit. "We still don't know if it's the real thing." She put her arms around herself, finding it particularly difficult to focus on supporting her weight while her insides began exploding in pain from the onset of another contraction.

Shadow frowned and put both arms around her. He then gave her a stern look, as though he were scolding Maria. "I expect you to tell me when something's wrong. Anything."

"Papa! Grandpa's on the phone, what do I tell him?" Maria piped up, looking at her father and mother. She wasn't used to seeing Sara sob into her father's shoulder, or the almost frightened look tinging his eyes.

"Tell him to meet us at the MRC," Shadow replied, deciding it best to scoop Sara into his arms. "...Can you keep up on foot?" He looked down at his daughter.

"I can." She nodded, then relayed the message to the cell phone. "Oh!" Maria ran off to the game room quickly.

"Maria! We have to go!" he shouted as she turned away from him. She didn't stay gone long. "What did you do?"

The girl smiled and held up her mother's SD by a cell phone strap attached to it. "I thought Mama would want it in the waiting room." She smiled proudly.

Shadow was going to say something, but a few more vocal tears from Sara told him she'd put off calling him longer than she cared to admit. "Yeah okay, just don't drop it." He gave Sara a kiss to assure her things would be all right before the family headed to the hospital.#

--

# - See Raising Maria chapter 11 to find out how this one ended. :3


	9. Ash's Outburst

For a while, the house up in Station Square's Northern Mountain expanse seemed a bit empty and quiet. With her new mate (or husband) Chase, Maria had left her parents' house of sixteen years to live on Mobius. This was the reason for the silence in the house, though it wouldn't last. Within the household, there was a reflective phase as father and mother dealt with the feelings they knew in advance would come with their child's moving on. The reflective phase didn't last long, however, as they prepared for the arrival of what would likely be their final offspring.

Ash was kicked back on his bed, playing the New Super Mario Bros. game on his DS. As is typical of teenage boys, the room was something of a mess, socks and sporting equipment strewn on the floor along with varying magazines. Unlike typical boys' rooms, however, it appeared he was moving in or moving out, most of his stuff apparently pitched haphazardly into cardboard boxes.

The door to his room began creaking open, and the hedgehog tilted his bed over the edge of the footboard, his eyes noting a familiar red and black form in his upside down vision. "Hi, Dad."

Shadow looked down on his reclining form, a typically unreadable expression on his face. "Are you going to finish packing all this shit?" he asked idly, kicking aside the wrapper from a Taco Bell meal. "..Or throw it out?"

"Hmph." The sky blue and black hedgehog shrugged. "I'll get to it."

"...You've been saying that for the last three days." He glanced at one of the opened boxes. "I think you've fished more stuff out than you've put into them."

The boy shrugged again and returned to his game. His fingers glided over the buttons, and his focus was exceptional--until his father pinched the top part of the system's screens and plucked it from his hand.

"Hey! I just got to the boss!"

Shadow closed the small clamshell video game system and "pocketed" it in his quills. The boy's protests did little to raise interest or concern from him. "Come on, we need to start working on this room." He shoved a couple of articles of clothing and a baseball glove into a box that was mostly full and sealed it.

"**Daaaad!**" the boy protested. "Come on! I don't let anyone touch my things!" the young teen said, mortified, and tried to reclaim his things.

"If you don't want me touching them, then clean this shit up when I tell you to," he said impassively.

"...You never talked to Maria like that." The boy rolled his eyes and sulked.

"Maria's a girl."

"_So?_" The teen snorted and ran his fingers through the black of his quills.

Shadow mirrored the flick of his hands through his own quills and placed him with a stern gaze. "Women are different, trust me on this one." He picked several of the gaming magazines off the floor, then quirked a brow as a picture of a very seductively posed and intriguingly adorned Hannah (Mina the Mongoose's daughter) fell from between its pages.

"...Mind explaining this?" He picked up the picture, which looked like it had been done on a laser jet printer.

The boy's cheeks turned red. "...Just a download...someone...sent me." He shifted in place uncomfortably. He coughed, "So why do I have to move into Maria's old room, Pop? I mean...it's girly." He groaned.

"...You can tear the rainbow wallpaper off if you want." Shadow shrugged, but confiscated the picture. He said nothing of the expression on his son's face as he did so, though he knew well what he was thinking. "Your mom wants to use your room for the nursery. Shouldn't you be happy about the extra space? Maria's room is bigger." He made another grab for a stack of magazines, only to find his hand slapped away. "Five seconds to explain why I shouldn't beat the shit out of you."

"Dad...p_lease!_ I can move my own stuff!" He whimpered a bit and made a face, his crimson eyes pleading with all the secrecy of a teen's desires on the line.

Shadow glanced at the stack of magazines and knew even though it was partly covered that he was looking at a PlayBunny. "I suggest you edit your..." he offered the handful of gaming magazines back to him, "...library before I let your mother search your room."

The boy gave a horrified squeak and quickly assembled and boxed his magazines. "Dad...!"

Shadow sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Please don't fight with me today. I've gotten less sleep than usual, your mother's in cranky bitch mode right now, and I have a nursery to assemble, so why the fuck are you still here?"

Ash stood there, dumbfounded, with his mouth hanging open for several minutes while his father continued to glare at him. "T...the hell!?" Ash cried out as Shadow deftly took him by the ear and slammed him down on his bed.

"Why don't you show me your inherent speed and...as they say on the Internet; GTFO," Shadow said calmly, "...with your stuff."

Ash groaned. "...Not fair..." The boy sighed, looking at the disaster area he generally milled about in. He really didn't want to move, and that was just him being plain lazy. There were lots of things he'd rather do, though his mind was drawing a blank on any suggestions of how his time could be better spent that wouldn't end with him getting his ass kicked. "Hey, Dad...?"

Shadow raised a brow. "Ready to stop being an ass?"

"Heh...I...I was wondering...umm...well...you want me out of here fast, right?" he inquired, his father nodding reply. "What about your powers? Chaos can teleport, right?" A slight smile spread across his lips.

"Yes but...it requires a Chaos Emerald. Your feet are fast enough." He shrugged.

"You do have an emerald, though!" He beamed. "Chase left it, right?"

Shadow put a hand on his hip and mulled it over. He really should be telling him to do it himself. He looked over his teenage son, remembering how hard he and Sara had tried to even conceive him. Now he was well old enough to leave the house again and...he felt a little guilty that he didn't mind that. Maria was his precious little girl and always would be, a reminder of her namesake though the two had little in common perhaps. But Ash, the boy was no longer quiet, no longer needy. The two hadn't, as he could recall, ever really been close...not like he was with Maria and not like he was with Sara.

A smirk pulled at a corner of his mouth. "All right. I'll show you a trick then." He riffled through his quills, drawing the trophy emerald from them, along with the DS the boy seemed to have more interest in. "Hmph... You'll get it back if you're a good student."

"Sweet!" The boy grinned, looking at the glittering gem.

The power that once moved a space colony was now going to move a room full of absolute refuse into another room only a few feet away. "So, you know the layout of where you want to go really well, right?"

The boy nodded; he'd sneaked in and read his sister's diary enough that he'd know the place in his sleep, and he was usually half dead off a sugar rush when he made such break-ins. "Yep."

"We'll start small." Shadow tossed the gem up and down in mid-air, the gem never reacting to his manhandling of it. "How about the Jr. Gear trophy?"

Ash pulled it down off his dresser and eagerly went back to his dad with it. "What next?"

"Typically, you'll need to make contact with what you move, and you move with it...so think about yourself standing in the middle of your new room, then start to draw out the Chaos before releasing it." Shadow demonstrated by teleporting himself onto the roof a second later, the shout of "Chaos Control" sounding the release of Chaos energies. He dropped back in through the window.

"Whoa cool, Dad! Let me!" He smiled and took the emerald, his father giving him a doubtful look. He closed his eyes and tried to picture his room clearly. The faint sound of his mother calling them for dinner derailed his thoughts and he pictured himself more at the dinner table, where he appeared seconds later.

"Whaaa?!" Sara blinked in alarm. "Get down from there!" she demanded, as the boy had landed on the table and consequently, a platter of piping hot spaghetti.

"Whoa...ow!" the boy winced. The smell of spaghetti intoxicated him in spite of his position of now being literally up to his elbows in the pasta. "Mmmmmm...! Smells good!" He licked his fingers as he got off the table, quickly discarding the trophy.

Shadow showed up at the table a few moments later, clearly guessing what had happened. "Well, you really lack your sister's focus." He shrugged and turned to Sara apologetically. "Vinnie's?"

She laughed, "How about Olive Garden?"

He nodded, even though Ash made a face. "I think you should inspect his room once it's finished."

The boy paled. "Oh?" Sara asked with interest, sighing at the messed up dinner.

"Yeah." Shadow grinned a bit. "He's got some interesting things I wasn't aware of."

"Uhh...excuse me, Mom, Dad...!" Ash rushed upstairs, and by the time his parents were ready to go to dinner, his old room had been vacated and a nice big garbage bag was ready to go out to the street.


	10. Reunion

A light knock came at Shadow's residence a few days after Ash managed to move into his sister's old room. Maria had been exploring Mobius with her husband Chase, and it was pretty well assumed she wouldn't be staying on Earth as Sara had done when she mated Shadow. Family bonds were far from severed, though, as the teenager stood outside the house with Chase a step behind her.

While not entirely thrilled with his daughter's choice in a mate, Shadow had been surprisingly civil toward the lad. Still, when he threw open the door, he gave him a fairly harsh look, diffused by his daughter's equally stern gaze.

"...Hi."

"...Hello Da--" the orange hedgehog fished for another term, "umm...Mr. Shadow..." he paused, "..Sir."

"Just Shadow's fine," he said evenly, then smiled at his daughter. "He treating you well?" he asked earnestly.

Maria nodded in reply, slipping into a comfortable smile. "Yes, of course. How's Mom?" she inquired, peering into the living room.

Shadow stepped aside and motioned the two in. "Not bad. Good as can be expected." He shrugged. Chase lagged behind a bit, grabbing their things. Shadow's ear twitched in a slightly annoyed way, even though he knew he should be helping Chase bring in their bags.

"And Ash?" She looked around the living room as if she expected it to have suddenly changed. Any changes were very minor, a couple new coasters for drinks on the coffee table, for example.

"Off at Tails' place today," he replied casually. "Supposed to be studying for his GPT."

"Hnn? Oh, the Grade Placement Test?" Maria responded.

Since Mobians all matured faster than humans, the matter of educating them was a bit more ambiguous than human students. While some had infiltrated the public school systems, most preferred home education. The Grade Placement Test was mandatory for any Mobian reaching age 12, as that was their legal work age. The test not only covered typical school subjects, but also questions similar to those given foreigners who wished for American citizenship. The GPT acted as a High School Equivalency Test, like a GED, and qualified them for a number of jobs and enrollment to most colleges. Maria had no problem passing the test, though it was unclear if she'd ever need a standard job with her Gear ace mate bringing in a good amount of money (by both Earth and Mobian standards).

"Yeah. Kit and Tracey are taking theirs next week. His is scheduled for the end of the month." Shadow waited for Chase to fully enter the house with the bags before closing the door, perhaps harder than he needed to.

Maria sighed a bit, understanding her father's frustration. Even after all this time, he still had a hard time accepting Chase. She gave her dad a light kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go check on Mom. She's in the den, right?"

"Yeah." He pulled Maria into a light hug. "We missed you, kiddo."

"I missed you too." She smiled, slipping from her father's grip. "Now play nice, you two!" She waved behind her as she headed off to the den. Shadow and Chase then exchanged looks in the awkward silence that followed.

* * *

A few years ago, Ash enjoyed going over to the Prower residence to play, mostly with Kit. The two of them were usually employed to fix gadgets around Tails' shop, which kept them out of trouble for the most part. Sometimes Blitz, Rift, and Race would show up to have their Gears tuned up, and the younger foxes and hedgehog would tag along to the Gear park. Now that he was older, he found Kit less of an attraction to his sister, whose adolescent body was growing into its adult form quite nicely and trailing an enticing smell.

Both Kit and Tracey had their father's twin tails, and they were able to fly with them like he was. Tracey didn't have her brother's endurance, but she flew faster. She was the same bright yellow-orange as her father and had his eyes. She could almost have been a female version of him but for her hair, which was full and long, drawn into a braid that trailed half way down her back. Her silver eyes were another deviation from her father. Kit, on the other hand, had the reddish orange fur of their mother and also had silver eyes. Both of them wore more clothing than the average Mobian, but since their father usually donned a grease monkey suit, and they had been raised on Earth, it was understandable.

In some ways, Ash wished they had been raised in the wooded parts of Mobius. He recounted "Uncle" Sonic telling about his days in Knothole, and how the girls out there (particularly Princess Sally) favored as little clothing as possible. He was thinking such thoughts while vacantly staring at a textbook he'd borrowed from the library. The boy was much more interested in the small white tuft of fur peaking out from Tracey's pink halter top.

"...And they've found evidence that the bone was mending, so the patients must have lived some time after the surgery," Tracey continued, reading on history from the South Americas. "Terrible to think that people who could do brain surgery like that would also practice human sacrifice, eh?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah." The blue and black hedgehog nodded.

"You seem distracted," Tracey noted, tilting her head to one side. "Oh!" She perked up and snapped her fingers. "Your sister's coming in for a visit today, isn't she? That's it, right?"

The dazed youth knew quite well what was distracting him but nodded anyway. "Y-yeah, that's it."

"Sorry, I didn't realize," the vixen laughed. "Gonna be weird having her back, eh?"

"Yeah...I'm in her old room," he replied. He glanced around the teen's room. She wasn't a typical boy crazy kind of girl, her walls holding portraits of landscapes and buildings considered to be superstructures. Her aspirations were architectural, and it showed. She had no plush dolls like his sister had hoarded, but a collection of robot and mech figures from various animated series ranging from Transformers to Gundam Wing, Eureka 7, and a set of Rockman figures. Many of the toys she had were models she'd personally assembled, her favorite being a Metool she made from scratch with a bowling ball base to the hardhat head. The door to her room was bright yellow with black striping, making it look like some construction warning sign. _Obsess much?_ he thought inwardly. Still, they'd grown up together; he knew her tastes well as anyone.

"How long's she staying?" Tracey asked, noting his interest in her decor. She smiled a bit at a Rockman figure he'd given her for her last birthday.

The boy shrugged. "Mom's having a baby shower in a couple days, so, probably after that's over."

"Ohh...is she really going to stay in Mobius?" Tracey frowned a little bit. She rather liked the older hedgehog; she was like her mom in being able to talk about a range of topics that didn't automatically fall back to how cute a guy was.

"Probably." He shrugged and looked over at her black and yellow door, wishing it wasn't cracked open like it was; anyone could come in. Not her brother, though; he knew he was out with Fennel (one of Charmy's sons, who was a couple years younger than Ash) and Pan (a yellow pangolin) for a day at Twinkle Park.

"You know, if you're distracted we could call it quits for today," the vixen offered. "I mean, you pretty much know this stuff cover to cover, you really need me to help you with this stuff?"

He thought about it a minute. Whenever she said things like that it meant they'd be going their separate ways, but he really wanted to linger today. His mother had been prone to mood swings, and he honestly wasn't interested in watching a glaring match between his sister's mate and their dad for hours on end. He also rather enjoyed the company he had right where he was. "I guess. Oh, still tinkering with robots any?"

"Not so much, that's more Kit's deal," the girl chuckled. She leaned over the edge of her bed, giving Ash a rewarding view of her curvaceous rear end. She pulled a rather thick notebook from it and turned to the once again dazed teen. She suspected it had something to do with her, though she kept her suspicions to herself. "Want to see my building designs?"

"Absolutely!" the boy perked up. This meant he could get closer to her on the bed and lean over her shoulder without being accused of anything. Some genuinely offered praise and critique for her work allowed him to slip an arm around her. Consistent interest allowed him to lean against her. Interest in her best work garnered favorable attention, and a kiss on her cheek was hardly refused. He leaned his nose up against the back of her ears and nuzzled gently; she smelled like honey to him. _Jackpot._

* * *

Ash was on an emotional high as he returned home that evening, though his parents were less than thrilled. He hadn't called about being home late, and though he was 12, he was still under his parents' roof. Shadow had noticed a feminine scent clinging to him and furrowed his brows a bit.

"Stay late at the Prowers?" he asked from the couch; it was his turn in Mexican Train.

"Yeah." Ash yawned and stretched. "Fiona had me stay for dinner...whew...she cooks biiig meals!" he said a bit exaggeratedly. "I'm kinda tired."

"You don't want to play with us?" Shadow said in the blandest tone one could imagine, though a slightly fanged expression was seen under his unhappy lips and his fingers threatened to snap the domino in his hand.

"Well...not really." He laughed nervously and looked over to the rest of the family. Sara was shooting her mate a concerned look at his strangely antagonistic attitude while she rubbed her belly to soothe both herself and the cargo within. Maria was looking more casual, having taken to wearing a white halter top and a pair of khaki daisy dukes and a white ribbon in her hair. Chase seemed as nervous as he was; Ash's father was not a known source of comfort.

"You don't have to," Sara put in warmly. "Studying go well?"

"Yeah yeah...I think I've got this aced." Ash smiled a reply. His dad was still staring. _What?_

"How much did you study the books, and how much did you study Tracey?" Shadow inquired calmly.

Ash's cheeks turned bright red. He cleared his throat loudly. "Daad! Come on, we're just friends." He laughed.

"Yeah...just friends..." Shadow's expression was doubtful. "Just remember, 'friends with benefits' is a human concept. We mate for life."

Ash swallowed hard. "We're friends," he insisted once more. He glanced over at the game and sighed. "If you want I could play tomorrow...really, I'm just tired." A short range Chaos Control later, and he was in his bedroom wondering what that was all about. He hadn't done anything with Tracey...yet...nothing that he hadn't done with Lilly anyhow. The lavender bat girl was a regular kissing partner for him, and he'd become quite good at it, which Tracey had just found out tonight. Moments later, Shadow was standing in the teen's doorway. "Hey! You heard of knocking?"

"You have any idea what a dangerous game it is you're playing?" the adult black and red hedgehog said in all seriousness.

"...Eh? What game?" Ash feigned innocence.

Shadow grunted. "You go over to Rouge's, I smell Lilly on you. You go over to Tails', I smell Tracey on you."

The teen shrugged. "That's normal, though, I mean, you're always going to get other's scents on you."

He grimaced. "Not like that." He took a deep sigh. "Tell me you're not trying to carry on a romance with _both_ of them?"

Ash gave a sheepish grin. "Not really...just messing around…."

"_Messing around?!"_ Shadow's tone became angry and the kid shrank back against his bed quickly. "Look...'messing around' is something humans do. We're Mobian!"

The blue and black hedgehog rolled his crimson eyes in typical teen fashion. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're on Earth... You know the saying 'when in Rome'...right?"

Shadow growled and backhanded his son. "You may be on Earth but that doesn't change who or what we are. Just because I'm part alien and was raised in this dimension, does that mean I'm not Mobian?"

"OW!" the boy yelped in surprise after the deafening slap hit his cheek. He barely had time to regain his wits before he gave a weak, somewhat frightened "...No."

"Look...if anything, Maria respects mating more than a typical Mobian...she went far enough to have a wedding." Said wedding, only having passed about a month ago, was still fresh in both their minds. "Some human ideas aren't bad, but the idea of women being a plaything is just...wrong."

"Dad...they're not," Ash protested.

Shadow sighed and sat beside his son. He really should've talked with him sooner about these kinds of things but it had just...never come up. "You've read some Mobian history, right?" His boy nodded. "Don't _ever_ put your scent on someone you don't intend to mate..." Shadow warned. He was at something of a loss for more to say; it was just...common sense to him.

"Yes, Dad." Ash assured him and kicked back on his bed. He wasn't really tired like he said, though after that talk and hearing his mother moaning downstairs because the baby was being rough, he had a few things to mill over. Although he was the youngest of the children born to the core freedom fighters or Sonic Heroes, he was hardly the least mature. He knew his mom was 17 when she was pregnant with Maria, and it was only a month or so after she'd taken Shadow for mate that she'd conceived. He certainly didn't like her sudden moodiness with this child, and the thought of possibly impregnating a girl scared the hell out of him. He just couldn't decide...the intelligent and slightly reserved vixen, or the sensual and passionate Lilly? If he couldn't decide, the lingering scents would inevitably lead to a conflict, either directly between him and the girls or the parents on both sides--Lilly's parents being far scarier with Rouge being a government agent and Nack being a former bounty hunter. He shivered, thinking about such possibilities; all he wanted was a little "fun," and though he was Mobian...his thinking toward women was probably a little _too human..._ For now, he wasn't sure he wanted to decide at all.


	11. Parties All Around

Author Notes: Sorry about that! I accidentally submitted the same chapter twice, this is the real chapter 11 lol!

* * *

When Amy arrived for Sara's baby shower, that was Shadow's cue to leave with Sonic. Bringing Chase along was not his idea, but the party was deemed "Girls Only" so the boy had to go somewhere. Maria had called it a chance for them to bond...hopefully not with each other's fists. Sonic was not alone, accompanied by a red echidna who had also dropped off his pink and lavender mate Julie-su. They were soon joined by a lavender weasel and an orange, two-tailed fox. Sonic hadn't been surrounded by all his best guy friends in a while and was bounding around with even more zeal than he usually had. Shadow could honestly call the group of male Mobians friends at this point, though he had more in common with the former bounty hunter than the rest of the gang.

"After doing this all twice before, I guess I should be used to this," Shadow commented as they strolled toward Miss Que, a local pool hall. Shadow and Sonic would both have enjoyed running to the establishment, and sometimes raced each other there, but they restricted their pace for the slower party members, chiefly Nack.

"Yeah, what're the odds?" Sonic laughed. "Not that you ever seemed nervous about it." He glanced over his shoulders at the others. "Any of you ever catch him sweat?" The guys laughed.

"Sara going to use anesthetics this time?" Tails inquired after the laughter died down.

Shadow grimaced. "I doubt it... She's stubborn like that."

"Like you?" Sonic retorted, to which Knuckles jabbed him in the side lightly. "Heh!"

"I'm not the only stubborn one," Shadow commented.

"Yeah tell me about it," Chase finally spoke up, but ducked his head quickly, avoiding a glare from his in-law.

Knuckles knew the trouble with in-laws all too well. Wynmacher was his new father-in-law since his mother had taken a new mate since abandoning his father (a rare occurrence, but not unheard of, particularly in the Guardian line). Then there was his rather standoffish father, and well...Julie being a part of the dark legion meant he was mating someone from the dead opposite side of the tracks. The friction in his family threatened to ignite more than once in recent history. Not a good combination.

"Hey, is that the place?" Knuckles was glad to change the topic of discussion.

Shadow looked up at the building coming into view with neon lights flashing. "Yeah, it is," he said as the guys entered the pool hall. While there was a bar on one side of the place, a recent smoking ban meant the Mobians could breathe.

Nack mused a bit, not having been in a place like this in quite a while. Most of his time spent in pool halls was done discussing jobs. While he'd tried being a private eye for a while, he was rather sick of having to sneak around for a living. Being a jeweler was far safer and more rewarding--and Rouge certainly approved of his profession.

"Game of nine-ball?" he asked casually, a fanged grin spreading on his face. The others agreed, and a number of quarters were inserted to the side of the table they'd been assigned for the evening.

* * *

"Oooh! Mina! Tiara! I didn't think you'd be able to make it!" Sara said in pleasant surprise as a similarly colored hedgehog and a yellow and lavender mongoose showed up, bearing gifts. Neither one was alone, however; a ten year old cornflower blue hedgehog clung to Tiara's side while a 14 year old yellow mongoose stood by her mother's side. "Ahh! This must be Hannah, right?" She smiled at the mongoose, who nodded. "... And you are?" She looked at the smaller hedgehog.

"...Tia," the girl replied timidly.

Tiara placed a hand on her head and ruffled up her quills a bit. "She's a good girl. I'm really impressed, though! Three kids? That's _rare_."

Sara nodded and motioned them in. "Maria and Lara-su are holed up in the den, so the kids can join them if they don't want to stick around with us," she chuckled. The offer was quickly welcomed, and the younger girls were soon snacking on cheese puffs and playing board games. Sara smiled after the young ones, remembering when she was their age.

"So how's Shadow been treating you?" Tiara asked as they headed back to the living room where the main party was.

"Good as ever. I don't care if nobody believes me, but he's really very gentle to me." She shrugged idly. She turned to the mongoose, smiling. "And you and Ash?" Mina's mate was also called Ash, though it was short for Ashton.

"Oh he's good." She smiled. "He's a producer now, so he's more than just a manager. Hannah's going to be cutting her second album soon." The mongoose couldn't have looked more proud. "First one went platinum."

"Ahh...she's the spitting image of you; it's nice to know she inherited your voice too! Just don't let it go to her head," Sara commented. She hesitated a moment before she took a seat; getting up and down was always harder when you had a beach ball belly.

"Can Ah get somethin' for ya, sugar?" Bunnie Rabbot inquired. Even she and Queen Sally had come.

Sara smiled a bit. "Just having all this company is fine. Shadow may take care of me, but I don't usually feel this pampered."

"You want pampered you should come and visit the palace some time." Sally rolled her eyes. She'd gotten out of the palace by pretending to be her brother Elias, mainly to avoid having a slew of bodyguards. Since he had position in the royal court, he was able to handle things in her absence and was the only one aside her husband to know where she'd gone off to.

"Mmm...enjoying civilian life a little bit?" Sara smirked like her cousin Sonic. She may not have been in Sally's inner circle of friends growing up, but she still knew her well enough.

"Definitely! Sometimes I wish Sonic had chosen me…." She blushed a bit, realizing Amy was in earshot. "Well...it's just...sometimes I miss that rebellious streak in him... It reminded me to stop and spend time being myself instead of always the princess," the chipmunk said with a soft sigh.

Amy softened a bit, "He's not that rebellious any more..." She smiled softly. "He still runs off without warning, drives me nuts when he won't answer his phone...but...I think the two boys have picked up for him." She laughed a bit.

"Ahh yes...two boys, huh?" Sally shook her head. "You must be going crazy!"

Amy chuckled, "Blitz is almost out the door... He really loves Extreme Gears, has a huge rivalry going with Chase." She rolled her eyes. "Rift's a little more sensible...but he's been blasting our ears out on electric guitar... Uhg...all that education wasted!" she lamented.

"Is he any good?" Helen asked, the human having been overlooked until now.

"Surprisingly good. I guess I should be happy," Amy replied.

"Then maybe you should be supportive. I know he passed his GPT, so he should be able to get a good job if that fails," the blonde human continued.

"If all else fails, he can go to work for Vinnie's Pizza." Sara laughed. The guests who lived on Earth all caught the joke, while Sally, Bunnie, and Tiara missed it completely.

"Speaking of, didn't you order some for the shower?" Helen asked.

"Yes actually..." Sara replied, a knock coming at the door just after that was said. She laughed. "Could someone get that, please?"

"I will!" Helen replied and walked to the door with a slight limp. Biomechanical technology had grown rapidly in the last few years with the exchange between Mobius and Earth, so her legs were partly cybernetic, but responded as if they were her own. The human had undergone surgery recently that now allowed her to walk. Nobody thought too much about this miracle, as Amy and Sonic were still regulars at the Thorndyke mansion. Most of the other women gathered weren't even aquatinted with her, so they didn't understand how significant this was either.

After pizza, Sara began opening the gifts her friends had brought. There was a typical compliment of diapers, rattles, baby books, and such. Perhaps the most well received gift was a certificate to a Mobian baby boutique. Since Sara hadn't expected to become pregnant again, the human sized crib had long ago been given away...this one would have a decent Mobian-tailored crib at last! Of course, topics like the gender of the baby and other specifics came up. She didn't mind answering any of their questions, and it did her good to enjoy the female bonding.

* * *

Ash had left before the shower began. He wasn't about to stick around for all the girlie stuff that was sure to occur, and besides, there were things he'd rather do. Right now, that was apparently spitting over the edge of a rail at the Regal Mall from the upper floor.

"Did I hit anyone?" he asked eagerly to a pair of human boys and a chameleon.

The black boy to his left was the son of Danny, Chris' best human friend. "Almost!" he chuckled as a couple with a baby stroller maneuvered around the spit puddle.

"Come on, let's move it before we're found out" the green chameleon cautioned.

"Oh you're no fun," a freckle faced boy with caramel hair replied.

"Well, your idea of fun means detention the rest of the semester, right?" the chameleon quipped.

"H-hey! ...It's not that bad." He shrugged.

"Man...it's boring at home...Mom's either all pissy or puking or spouting stupid baby talk to her belly," Ash lamented.

"Yeah, little siblings can be a pain," the freckled human replied.

"Aren't you the youngest, Vinnie?" the other human inquired. The group looked back between each other, and collectively they spat over the rail before continuing on.

The caramel-haired human blushed a bit. "Well yeah, but I got friends with little brothers and sisters." The one answering now to Vinnie shrugged as they walked along, hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans. "I know older sisters can be a pain. Heh...Angie's just Daddy's little angel." He rolled his eyes at that. The 14 year old was more than a little jealous of his overachieving sister.

Danny's son whistled as he caught sight of a very attractive woman just coming out of Victoria's Secret a few yards away. "Damn, look at that. I'd like me a piece of that sometime." The chameleon with them made a face, and the human felt compelled to reply, "Aww, what's your problem, Sabo?"

"Women aren't things... It's not like a pie you can just take a piece out of, Eddie," the chameleon Sabo replied in an honorable tone.

"That's what my dad says." Ash tilted his head to one side and shrugged. "_We're Mobians, we take mating seriously,"_ he mocked, trying to imitate his father's monotone voice.

The two humans snickered, but Sabo rolled his golden eyes. "Your dad's right," he said seriously.

"Now...come on, Sabo, don't tell me you don't appreciate a good figure?" Eddie replied, and pointed out a rather busty white mink with a yellow tail who cruised through the mall. "Come on, I'm not even Mobian and she looks like a hot dish."

Sabo's face flushed and his entire body turned a shade of pink, a disadvantage of being a chameleon. "Dude, I didn't say I don't like women! I just...uhg...you're being so disrespectful," he protested.

Vinnie scratched the back of his head a bit. "Heh...well...I mean…my dad says the same kinds of things... Must work for him, I mean, he's been married well over twenty years now."

"So what do you think?" Eddie turned back to their sky blue and black hedgehog tagalong.

"I...well...I just can't decide." Ash blushed a bit. "Well I mean...you know Lilly...and...well...she's hot. I mean really really hot...but then there's Tracey and we've always been best friends."

"Ohh no no..." Eddie cut in, "not the 'best friend' crap. Go with Lilly."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's interested in you, it'll be some great sex," the teen said with a confident air to him.

Vinnie went red, as did the two Mobians. "It shouldn't be about the sex though..." he protested. "I'm trying to save myself for marriage, y' know. There's nothing wrong with marrying your best friend...it worked for my dad."

"Well, your dad's like...something out of a time capsule. You just don't find people like that these days," the darker youth replied with a shrug.

"Well…sex would be pushing things," Ash spoke up, looking over at a squirrel couple kissing on one of the benches set up through the mall. "...That's like a marriage license to us."

Eddie sighed. "I tell you, you Mobians really got to get over that. We are on Earth...think of all the possibilities! Just watch...bet I can get a kiss off of any girl." The boys exchanged looks, and a semi-randomly selected girl was singled out for his ego's test. The tall teen walked up to a girl around their age and the two began talking. He was too far away from the guys to hear, and even if they'd been closer, the mall sounds would have drowned out the conversation. After a few minutes of flirting, the woman wrote something on a piece of paper and slipped it to him, then planted a kiss on his cheek. He walked back over to his posse with a wide grin on his face. "Told ya."

"What'd she give you?" Sabo asked.

"Her cell phone number." He grinned. "Anyone else want to try?"

"No..." Sabo grunted.

"Maybe just once..." Ash replied.

"That's the spirit!" Eddie slapped him lightly on the back, mindful of the quills. He headed his younger friend toward a pair of twin lemurs, Ash returning with red cheeks from the slaps he'd received. "Ahh...minor setback, maybe that was too ambitious..."

Eventually Ash's lips became entwined with those of a red ant eater (not an echidna) who enjoyed the French lesson so much, the rest of the group wondered if they were still breathing. For now, this seemed far more enjoyable than staying home for a stupid baby shower. While Sabo and Vinnie seemed mostly respectful of women, Eddie always managed to point out their less noble intentions, which was fueling Ash's current flirting game. At the rate his lips and hands were going, the game could turn R-rated very fast, reason enough for them to rush out of the mall and head from the Regal to the Twilight Mall, where the flirting game continued full force.


	12. An Ominous Feeling

_Stars glittered in the sky from the view of space. At this vantage point, a dark sphere was just being illuminated as the first rays of dawn beamed from behind it. Shadow was watching it from space…from the Space Colony Ark._

'Why am I here?'_ he thought. He looked to his left, but the usual human visitor he saw in these dreams was absent. "Maria?" he called, looking inward to his former "home."_

_The male hedgehog had an eerie feeling as he wandered the halls of his all but absent youth. The domestic side of the Ark was as he remembered, hydroponically grown plants sitting on tables or pedestals, the pristine silvery atmosphere sterile as a medical ward. The Ark had little evidence that people even lived there when they weren't around._

_He thought he might check on Maria's quarters, and though the door was not locked, the human was nowhere to be found. He glanced about for a bit at the clean room, not a speck of dirt or dust to be found anywhere. His crimson eyes caught sight of a sphere resting on a shelf and pulled it down, inspecting it. He watched a couple of shrimp swim around and hide behind a piece of coral before setting it back in its place. He checked under her bed and found a set of board games. It would be hard for Sonic to imagine he'd ever played these before Sara got a hold of him, but the human had been his best friend._

_He went over to the window, Maria having her room on the outside wall of the orbiting colony, and watched the Earth "rise" into its clear blue color. In an instant, a sense of alarm rose within him as the shadow of black tentacles came into view. '_Black Doom? Impossible….'_ Shadow stared in disbelief as the figure of the red-eyed alien began to materialize behind the Earth, far larger and more menacing than he'd ever been._

_His fists clenched tightly at his side and his own crimson eyes were filled with hate and rage at his "father." Dream or not, he couldn't stand idly by with that _thing_ on the loose. As he turned from the window, he almost tripped over a young hedgehog child. "Maria?" Shadow started, seeing his midnight blue child suddenly seated in the center of the room on its circular carpet, idly stacking dominoes._

_It had been a long time since Maria was as small as she appeared to Shadow now. She said nothing as she built the dominoes into the image of skyscrapers. She didn't seem to notice Shadow, who suspended his concern about the alien to watch her. As he watched, her fur became pitch black, and her brownish-red markings turned a blood red. "You like it, Papa?" she asked, her crimson eyes slowly setting on her father in a most disturbing leer._

_"What's going on?" Shadow inquired calmly as he could._

_"I'll make it go away," Maria said vacantly. Her hands came down on the stacks of dominoes, flattening them on the floor, and then washing them away in a wave of emerald light._

_Shadow shielded his eyes from the bright discharge, and when he dared look again, he was outside of the colony, floating in space, his quills a brilliant platinum and metallic red. The roar of the biolizard behind him told him he was now in the midst of a memory. A gold flash speeding toward it with Sonic's usual cocky voice was confirmation of when he was in his memory, but why now?_

_The voice of Sonic quickly drowned into the background as Shadow observed the past unfold before him, watched himself join Sonic in battle from afar. He relaxed; he knew how it would end. As had happened before, Chaos Control was released, though this time, the Ark simply vanished. If he was waiting for it to reappear, he was mistaken._

_The dark hedgehog searched the void of space but saw nothing but the Earth below...and the visage of Black Doom reappearing before him. "You…. Why are you here?"_

_"Why are you? You know what you are, Shadow...why pretend you're so different from the biolizard?" it replied, tone dripping with malice._

_"I'm Shadow. Shadow the _hedgehog,_" he replied firmly._

_"Shadow the Ultimate Life Form. The destroyer, the..." Shadow tore through one of its tentacles as it spoke, the limb ripping away as if it were paper. "You have no right to a normal life. In fact, you have nothing without me."_

_"I have everything I want on Earth."_

_The alien form gave a long, sardonic laugh. The world was about the size of a basketball, though a minute ago he'd been normal sized. Shadow seemed to have shrunk too, though he hadn't really noticed the effect. "I have the Earth…." A green glow appeared at the tips of its tentacles. Shadow wasted no time and ripped and tore and blasted through him every way he could...all to the savage laughter of the alien. "Yes! That's right! Let your anger show. You haven't changed one bit, have you?! Destroy! Go on...be yourself!" it mocked._

'I have changed...' _Shadow broke Black Doom apart piece by piece, the colossus shrinking down to size until only the crippled center and eye floated there before him. "I fight because I have a reason to...because I have something to protect..."_

_"Bravo, Shadow," Black doom hissed at him. "Your haste to destroy has made you so strong. You could have been great in the Black Arms... Kill me, and see your reward."_

_Shadow growled, "I'm tired of you trying to run my life!" Shadow lashed out at the menacing red eye and pulled his hand back, the form of Black doom becoming as a sheet, and when it pulled away, his eyes widened at what he saw._

_"I am your life," a soft female voice replied. It looked like his Maria, his daughter, covered in blood as though she had taken the beating he'd just given to Black Doom. She was colored exactly like him, though, his exact markings...but the eyes. The crimson eyes glowering at him, and the sadistic smile, were not her. "I wonder which one of us will lose ourselves first? You can't hold back your own temper; you're a destroyer...how could you ever build something kind from a foundation of blood?" the girl laughed at him._

_Shadow growled once more, "You are __**not**__ Maria!"_

_The hedgehog smiled and seemed to shrink, her age falling back, her looks more innocent. "You made me, though…." Finally to the stage of an infant, the demonic black hedgehog child "died" and a trail of blood spread out in the void. Shadow's eyes followed that trail until it traced back to a screaming sky blue hedgehog seated on a birthing table. It looked as though she'd given birth to the abomination and as the scream abated, the hedgehog fell back on the table unmoving "_Sara...!_"_

* * *

"Gah!" Shadow woke up in a cold sweat, his breathing labored. In his fitful rest, he'd managed to backhand Sara, and since her quills were turned to him, that meant he now sported a pretty good wound across his hand and forearm. He hadn't really noticed until he caught sight of his mate, who was splashed with his blood. The scene was particularly frightening following the dream he'd just had.

His outcry had caught the attention of his expecting lover, who was taken aback at the fearful look in his eyes. "Shadow...?" she asked in a soft whisper, her eyes taking on a slightly fearful edge to them. She hadn't even noticed the blood yet. "Shadow? Are you okay?" She sat herself up and leaned against him, putting her arms around him. The female hedgehog was a bit surprised at his drenched fur and labored breathing; she'd never really known him to panic, not like this. _He's shaking…._ When she did notice the blood, it did little to quell her concerns.

After a few quick breaths, Shadow managed to pull himself together enough to reply. "...Bad dream." He hoped she wouldn't press him about it, noting her eyes full of worry. His mind was trying to comprehend the nightmare, rationalizing what he saw, but the answers were less than comforting.

"...Care to talk about it?" She knew already that the answer would be no, but she had to ask anyhow. Her mind began functioning in a more natural way, and she traced down the source of it to Shadow's hand. She didn't have to ask him if it hurt; he seemed to have a delayed reaction to pain, though if she got out the iodine he'd feel it. His body was already working to mend the wound, and she was grateful for his enhanced healing at times like this.

Shadow grunted a reply, then attempted to lie back in bed. He tilted his head to the side looking at the alarm clock; it was about 3 AM. "It's just a dream…." He let Sara tend to his hand while he lay there, wrapping it in a piece of cloth. What it was exactly he couldn't tell; probably some clothing she just grabbed.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost...it must have been some dream..." Sara commented with a resigned sigh as she lay next to her love and wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. "Come on, we need to get you cleaned up," she whispered in his ear, attempting to pull him back up.

"Yeah. It was." That was all he would say about it, though he subtly turned his gaze to her round belly. He'd never thought his children could be really destructive; they were only a quarter alien at best, and their mother was as normal as possible. Neither of them had really shown any abilities or inclination that way without asking him for lessons or being in an unusual circumstance. Would this last one be different?

Sara sighed a bit. "I wish you'd tell me what's troubling you... You don't have a dream like that without something being wrong," she said on their way to the bathroom.

"I'm fine," he assured her. In the dim lighting, he glanced to his hand, finally noticing she'd wrapped it in one of her bras, and his cheeks flushed. "Did you have to use that?"

Sara chuckled a bit. "Looks better on me, doesn't it?"

He made no comment other than to tell her the water was too hot when they finally got to the bathroom and she began washing his wounds. She just laughed a bit. His eyes being downcast and not paying attention to what she was doing drew him again to her belly. The vision of the hedgehog marked like him was still quite disturbing, especially since she'd worn a limiter like Maria did. "...Do you think it's going to be a boy or a girl?" he asked after a long silence.

"Ahh..." She was caught a bit off guard by that question. "...Boy?" Shadow chuckled a bit at the way she responded. "Mmm...what were you expecting? An alien?" Though it was still rather dark in the bathroom, there was no mistaking the tension she felt in Shadow, and it wasn't connected to his hand. "...I was kidding. You know that doesn't matter to me," Sara added softly.

"Sorry..." The black and red hedgehog gave her a light kiss for assurance. He wanted to say a lot of things, but as usual, held his tongue. _Have I changed?_

"You can apologize by doing laundry in the morning...or just changing the sheets now. Alert enough?" Sara yawned, the excitement of the moment having waxed thin.

Shadow managed a slight smile, then shrugged. "I think so." In an unnecessary flash of Chaos Control, he beat her back into the bedroom, where the sheets had freshly been changed.

* * *

A few days later, Shadow threw open the door to his son's room. His mouth was open, ready to say something, but he froze, with his crimson eyes narrowed on his son and a yellow and purple mongoose with black highlights in her hair. The sky blue and black hedgehog was on his back with the girl on top of him, and their lips, and probably tongues, were entwined, and at least one of his hands was stuck partly down her skirt. Naturally there was an exchange of shocked gazes as the two on the bed hastily separated from each other.

The female mongoose looked embarrassed. "Oh uh...Mr. Shadow...I was just...about to...umm...Ash was showing me--... uhhh..."

"Dad! Come on! Knock first!!" Ash spoke up in a horrified tone. He and the mongoose were both flushed red in the cheeks. He wasn't quite sure if he was as mad as he was embarrassed, but he saw his chances with the rising star rapidly slipping away.

Shadow rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, scrunching up his muzzle, trying to keep from saying something he'd regret. He just pointed to the door. "...Out. I need to talk to my son."

"Ahh...that's okay...I...should go... My mom's on a tight schedule, probably wondering where I am..." the girl said nervously and dared a feeble glance back at Ash. "Later?"

"Yeah." He nodded as she exited the room, a slightly helpless look on his face. He winced as Shadow slammed the door behind her, bringing him to glare at his father. "_What the hell was that for!?_" he growled.

"I didn't come to break up your make-out session if that's what you think," Shadow replied with a snort.

"Then what?" he glowered.

With a flick of his wrist, Shadow tossed a shiny gold bracelet like his own on the youth's bed. "Put it on," he instructed, an unamused gaze on his face.

Sudden confusion set in as the boy looked at the gold trinket and then his father again. "Eh?" He paused. "Didn't know you were into jewelry, _Pop_." He tended to use that term when he was being a flippant brat. "All you need to do is get one for Mom, and we'll all match." He smirked.

"She doesn't need one," Came an icy reply from the umber hedgehog.

A chill washed over Ash. He wasn't used to his father being so serious, especially over something that just looked like jewelry to him. He raised a brow. "What is it?"

"A Chaos limiter. Be glad you only need one," Shadow responded in a stoic tone. He lightly tugged the edge of one of his gloves, emphasizing the band around his wrist.

Ash could recall Shadow wearing different styles of gloves and shoes through his life, though he'd never noticed how the gold bands were always there. Of course, he knew about Chaos Control; Shadow had taught him some, but he'd never considered that it needed to be limited in any fashion.

"...What's this about?"

"Just put it on."

Ash resisted, hesitated, locked in a staring contest with the older hedgehog. His quills bristled as he stared into the red orbs. They'd never been so intense, and he felt like he was being absorbed by their harsh glare. He averted his gaze first and clipped the item on his wrist. His eyes widened slightly as he felt the charm draw power from his body. "What...what is this?"

"Don't worry, the feeling will pass," was Shadow's only response.

"Heh…it's not going to control me, is it?" He felt a bit sick to his stomach as the Chaos powers within him were diverted through the band. Maria had felt the change in her body as well, though she'd never been aware of her Chaos powers. Ash had actually spent some time sharpening his. There was a certain heaviness to his body with the addition of the new charm, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"No. It's about controlling the power that flows through us," he said dryly, turning to leave.

"So...that's it?" Ash chimed in as his father reached for the door knob. "You're not going to lecture me about cramming my tongue down another girl's throat when I have Lilly and Tracey hot for me?" The teen's angsty tone was filled with a mixture of false contempt, sarcasm, and mild shock.

Shadow gave a shallow laugh. "I'm a bit more concerned about your hand down her pants..." He snorted indignantly. "That was Hannah, right?" he inquired, searching for the name of Mina's daughter.

"..Yeah. She's here in town with her mom...they have a concert goin' on..." Ash's brow was slightly raised. His father was being surprisingly calm considering the scene he'd just witnessed.

"You like her beyond some _heavy petting_?" Shadow asked of him.

Ash's cheeks had just been recovering their natural color when he asked that. "Uhh...hey…." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not like mongooses are known for fidelity."

The darker hedgehog took on a low tone, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Meh...just what _Uncle_ Sonic did with her mom." The teen held up a copy of the Inquirer, which had a picture of Sonic and Mina on it, talking about their "Scandalous Love Affair" on page 23. "Sure doesn't sound like '_we mate for life_' to me!" he quipped with a solid smirk on his face.

Shadow took one look at the magazine and gave a brief laugh. "Don't believe everything you read." A grin formed on his face. "Think Amy'd still be with him if it was true?" While it was true that the pop star mongoose had a crush on Sonic at one time, it was as one sided as the crush Amy had on him.

The smirk quickly washed from the youth's face. "...No." He paused. "Y...you're not going to tell Mom, are you?"

The older hedgehog looked at the doorknob for a minute. "No. Not my place." He shrugged. "You're supposed to be an adult, right?" He threw him a look over his shoulder. Twelve was still a child to a human, but not for a Mobian. Still, inexperience with the world was as much a problem for a young teenage Mobian as a young adult human.

"Yeah."

"Then act like one." Shadow shrugged. "If you do take a mate, though...just...be faithful." He slowly turned the knob. "...Your mother's the only woman I've ever been with...and the only one I'll ever want."

"You mean to tell me you didn't...'_mess around?'_" Ash asked expectantly.

"If you want to know about your mother and me, you'll have to ask." He opened the door and gave his kid a last glance. The ring would ensure his Chaos powers wouldn't go out of control, thus avoiding a physical catastrophe. It was the emotional chaos he seemed to be stirring up that Shadow had no control over.

"I'm asking."

Shadow smirked. "Try me later." He shrugged and headed out the door. He wasn't sure if he'd gotten through to the boy, but at least the animosity seemed to be fading. Shadow spent enough of his life angry; it had taken him years to let go. He just hoped his son wouldn't be the same way.


	13. Grown Up Yet?

Ash backed off from Eddie's influence over the next couple of weeks, spending time with his more sensible chameleon friend Sabo and Tony's son Vinnie. Eddie was serving time in detention and being grounded with no Internet, so it wasn't hard to avoid him. It was actually a bit of a relief to the group. While they still did stupid teenage things like spitting over rails, making prank calls from phone booths, and ringing doorbells and then running away, they weren't being tempted to do worse things (such as stealing from a carryout).

The trio had decided to meet at a local Starbucks only to find themselves a quartet. A pinkish-purple chameleon with green eyes stood next to the green chameleon, the pair smiling at them. She had two small horns protruding from her forehead, unlike the single spike in the center of Sabo's face. Her back spines were smaller down her back and completely absent on her tail, which seemed a bit longer than his. The female chameleon was about their age, and under her green leather jacket, not a bad form either.

"Hey, guys!" Sabo finally spoke up.

"Hey, Sab'..." Ash glanced at Vinnie, who was sporting an equally bewildered look.

"Oh uh...guys? This is Rhonda." The green chameleon seemed to take on a brighter color as he regained his composure. "She's my girlfriend," he explained. "Rhonda? This is Vinnie and Ash," he indicated the human and hedgehog in turn.

"Nice to meet ya," Vinnie said amiably and gave a slight bow.

The sky blue and pitch black hedgehog just looked a little dumbstruck. He'd never really called any girl his girlfriend, though the High One knew he was being more than any girl he considered a "friend." "You have a girlfriend?" he finally queried in disbelief.

"Yes I do," Sabo replied, giving a soft smile at his lady friend. "_Some of us_ know how to treat a woman right," the chameleon continued with a slight smirk growing on his face. His tail flicked back and forth, staving off any challenging questions the hedgehog was forming.

"Well...this is a surprise," Vinnie commented airily after a long and awkward silence. "What did ya want to do, miss?"

"Oh don't mind me," Rhonda replied, "I don't want to break up the bunch, you know. Just do what you normally would."

The boys all exchanged tenuous looks. Writing on bathroom walls might still be in, but public spitting was out.

"Fine. You like games?" Ash asked shyly. _H-how'd he get a girl like that?_

"Yeah. I'm pretty good at DDR," she finished with a slightly prideful smile.

The hedgehog rolled his eyes at that. "My mom's favorite..." he muttered as the group started for the arcade. Ash hung behind the pair and tugged at the green chameleon's tail idly, until he fell behind in step with Ash.

"Quit tugging on it," he snorted.

"Where ya been hiding her?" Ash asked, totally ignoring his request.

"Away from Eddie," the chameleon's gaze and tone were a bit harsh at mentioning the human. "She lives next door. We've been playing soccer together for ages," he explained.

"Dude...how could you _not_ tell us?" Ash's eyes were still wide in amazement. He hadn't expected the slightly stoic teen to have a girlfriend.

He laughed a bit. "Man you're dense." He shrugged. "Either you just don't ask the right questions, or you aren't listening to the answers."

_'If you want to know about your mom and me, ask.'_ Shadow's words suddenly returned to his son, who froze at the door of the Red Baron. While his friends took off for their games of choice, he looked over at the gold band on his left wrist. How had he missed the fact his dad had four of them, through his entire life? He was just beginning to realize he didn't know everything, and even less than he thought where friends and family were concerned.

"Coming?" Vinnie asked, standing next to a racing game. "I need a buddy for this one!"

"Heh. Yeah!" Ash smirked and followed his freckle-faced buddy. _Maybe I am dense..._

* * *

The young male hedgehog was, for once, without a female visitor, or any for that matter. Ash was sitting on the couch in the den, his fingers on a Wiimote tilted on its side. He was playing a new racing game that was recently released and completely absorbed in it. Absorbed as he was, it was hard to ignore a rather heavy book slamming down in his lap.

"What the--?!" He looked down at the book as a red shell slammed into the back of his kart, thus pushing him into 6th place. "Crap..." The TV was quickly turned off before his humiliation in-game was complete. "What gives...?" he inquired, noting the intruder on his game was his father rather than his mother, though her interruptions were usually along the lines of calling him to dinner.

"Wanted to show you something." He shrugged. "You seem to have time now that you aren't _messing around_," he stressed.

Ash's cheeks flushed and he got a good look at the book. while the cover wasn't "girly" as such, it was very obviously handmade. Glitter, cardboard, and slips of paper in various textures and patterns were patchworked onto the binding. "...Tell me this isn't 'my' scrap book mom was talking about." he groaned.

"No. It's mine," Shadow said flatly before sitting next to his son.

He gave his father a questioning look as his fingers rested on the edge of the book cover, curious to see its contents. "She made you one?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's grown a bit over the years but...she gave it to me shortly after Maria was born."

"So...why show it to me now? Has Maria seen it?" Ash let go of the Wiimote and turned to the first page, a series of ultrasounds that were certainly Maria. He flipped the page and saw pictures of a blonde girl he didn't recognize next to a strangely relaxed version of his dad. "...Who's she?"

"Maria," he replied simply. Shadow glanced over at the picture, a trace of sorrow in his eyes. "I guess you haven't been listening to my stories about the Ark much..." While he tended to gloss over the end days of the Ark's service, he'd freely spoken about the interior of the station and some of the people on board. He still rarely spoke about the original Maria, but it was his way of keeping memories of her somehow more special.

Ash blushed a bit, embarrassed by that. "I guess not." He perked an ear up toward his father, though there was a classic pause in sounds other than his breathing. "...You used to live there, I know that... They used to do a lot of experiments. I remember reading about it online...they said it was shut down over six...six...sixty years...ago." He looked at the photo and then his father. Having no height references, he couldn't tell if he'd grown any taller, but from a cursory glance, he was the same today as back then. "Whoa...you're old…."

Shadow laughed a bit at that. "Yeah. But I spent most of that time in suspended animation, so it doesn't count." He shrugged. He smiled a bit at the girl in the picture. "She was my only real friend up there…."

"...So my sister's named after her."

Shadow nodded. "It was your mom's idea."

"Guess that explains why she gets special treatment." Ash snorted lightly.

"I don't mean to, but she is a girl." He smiled a bit wider. "You have any idea why I was on the Space Colony in the first place? Why it was shut down?"

"...Not really," Ash admitted. "Does it have to do with the bands you always wear?" he indicated the limiters. Shadow nodded in reply. "What's it got to do with you?"

"Everything," Shadow said as casually as one talks about the weather, even shrugging as if it were nothing. "I was actually one of _the_ experiments there." He snorted, recalling how some of the scientists had regarded him; it certainly didn't encourage him toward fuzzy feelings about humans. "You know I'm part alien?" His red eyes traveled slowly to his son's, which were wide with surprise. He flipped the book open to a certain page with some magazine and newspaper articles in it. Very little of the book was his idea, but Sara had decided to keep the good and the bad. The articles contained talked some about the incident on the Ark 60-some years ago, the moon being partly blown up a few years back, and, of course, some photos of the Black Arms looming ominously overhead. Shadow'd been quite the hero then, though in his mind, he was just trying to sort out who and what he was.

"No way..."

"Yeah. Black Doom's your grandfather; doesn't that make you proud?" He gave a sarcastic smile at his son, whose jaw just hung open. "He had some mastery of the emeralds, which I've inherited." He unclipped one of his limiters, and emerald colored Chaos energy began to leak from it and permeate the room.

"...Holy shit." Ash had never seen the limiters come off, even one of them. It gave him a very quick lesson in why he felt the need to bestow Ash with his own limiter. Even a week after it was put on, Ash had recovered his control over his Chaos abilities and hadn't really noticed them restricted.

Shadow replaced the limiter and shrugged. He sifted through the pages, finally landing on a page with pictures of Sara shortly after giving birth. On the lefthand page was her and Maria (and those pictures were outlined with lace) while the righthand page had pictures of her and Ash (those pictures having a flat ribbon or plaid fabric frame instead).

"So...how did you and mom meet?" Ash requested after a looming silence.

"I ran into her and she beat me with a loaf of bread," his reply was so steady that the boy did a double-take. He was always so serious, but that sounded laughable.

"You're kidding."

"Nope." Shadow grinned a bit. "She smelled like her cousin Sonic, and at that point we were rivals at best...so I attacked her thinking she was him."

Ash whistled. "Not exactly Mister Manners, huh?"

"No." Shadow's expression fell in remembrance of the events on the Ark. "When the Ark fell...Maria died...my purpose became one of revenge. That's why the moon had to be repaired." He closed his eyes and thought about the bright-eyed human who longed to stand on the very soil he saw on a daily basis. "I didn't want to be part of this world, and when I was, I was like a stranger looking in..."

"...This the part where you tell me how much mom's love made you fit in?" He rolled his eyes at the sappy Hollywood type plot.

"No. Not really. But she made me jealous," the darker hedgehog derived a little pleasure in the almost constantly confused look on his son's face. "She was having a good time; it was as natural to her as it was to Sonic. She knew exactly who she was, and didn't care who knew it...and the best part was when she attacked me with that loaf of bread."

"Ehh? Now I'm really lost…." the red eyed boy said.

"She wasn't afraid of me." At those words, Shadow gave a very rare full smile. "I'm so used to people fearing me, it's...strange having someone look at you without even a trace of fear." Since Ash chose to be quiet, Shadow continued after the silence, "Destruction is part of me, I never even thought about using Chaos powers to heal before Maria did it. I blew up the moon and hated the world so much, I wanted to destroy it." He snorted a bit. "Even if I wanted to be kind, I don't exactly have a welcoming face, now do I?"

"Well...no," Ash replied. His father was saying things that were forcing him to think. He wondered how much of this Maria all ready knew, and how much he'd simply overlooked. It was obvious his father felt awkward in social situations; that had been a given all his life. He just didn't consider the roots of it. "So...she just accepted you?"

Shadow shook his head. "No. I had to chase her..." He chuckled a bit. "I was ready to give up. We got off to a bad start, a bad follow-up too." He glanced at the nearest game system. "I haven't played against her in DDR since then." He gave a mused grin.

While Ash didn't understand the last bit, he thought of one last question, "So why are you telling me all this? You suck at speeches."

"Hmph." Shadow rifled his fingers through his quills lightly. "There's an old saying on Mobius...'She's not your mate if you're not willing to die for her.'" He gave pause, but only for dramatic effect. "I had to act on that a couple times…. Everything I went through for and with her, just makes everything...worth it."

"...Ahh…" The teen leafed through the book. Most of the pictures were of Sara and Shadow, though the later pages had him and his sister in them, at various stages of growing up. He was a little surprised at some of the scenes, like one where he was obviously throwing a hissy fit.

Shadow spoke up again after another lengthy pause, "We really wanted you, you know...worked four years at having you." Ash made a face at thinking about his parents having sex. "You don't have to move a space colony or win a lot of races to make me proud... All I ever wanted was a normal life, and something better than what I had for you..." And here's where he took a deep breath. "I just don't want you screwing it up by doing something stupid."

Ash closed the book and handed it back to his dad. He was quiet a bit, considering the things he'd just seen and heard. Under it all, he knew his dad had opened up to try and curb his human habits toward women. Even if it didn't work, his dad had just shown him something, a rare feat in itself, especially the magnitude and range the topic held. He still found it hard to believe he was part alien.

"I'm not going to screw up..."

"I hope not..." Shadow said as he turned the TV back on. "It's hard living with regret."

Once he was gone the boy was free to lament being flung into sixth place by his father's intrusion in the first place. "Crap..."

* * *

Sara was well used to the pains associated with child bearing and birth at this point. She glanced at the rainbow cell phone strap connected to her phone and wondered if she should give Shadow a call. When he'd left for work that morning, she told him she thought she was starting to have some contractions. Since she wasn't sure if it was the real thing or not, she made him go to work after a bit of coaxing.

It wasn't like she was home alone; Ash was still there. Maria wasn't far away either, with she and Chase staying at the Thorndyke manor. She wished her daughter were a little bit closer, but there were still sparks of tension between Shadow and Chase. She almost wished her pregnancy wasn't drawing to a close; she enjoyed the side effect it had of bringing the family closer. Her own father had paid more than a few visits to their home, though he was probably busy today as well.

_'Just a little longer...'_ she thought, stroking her belly before changing the channel on the TV. She was sick of daytime TV, but a little too lazy to get up off the couch. The pained muscle spasms she was experiencing every couple of hours or so wasn't much of a motivator either. '_I'll call him if it becomes more regular...'_

"Hey, Mom?" Ash's voice carried to her, and she looked up to see him leaning over the back of the couch.

"Heya, sunshine. Decide to come out of your cave?" She grinned. He rarely left his room or the den if it wasn't to be with friends.

"Yeah. Are you feeling all right?" He quirked a brow, noting her smile was a bit strained.

"Ask me when the contraction's over." She shifted positions in an attempt to get comfortable, though it seemed to make things worse. _'I am not going to call him yet! Just a little more time...'_

The teen looked a little bit stunned. Sara had done a good job of hiding her discomforts for the most part, and as the boy was realizing, he wasn't that great at paying attention. "Does it hurt?" he asked timidly.

She shot him a death glare before lying back helplessly. "Ohhh no..." she groaned, "I'm peachy."

"Sorry..."

Some nature show was playing on the TV, filling in the awkward silence. _"While in the middle of intercourse, the female mantis rips the head of her mate off."_

"Umm…." Ash coughed. "Could you change the channel?"

Sara switched the channel. Some soap opera was on, and two of the characters were in an emotional nuclear meltdown since the male had apparently cheated on the female with her best friend. Sara wrinkled her nose and turned the volume down. "So what did you want?"

"Huh? Oh..." Ash looked away from his mom. "I was just thinking."

"Mm...thought I smelled something burning." She laughed a bit. The pain had passed and she dared get up for a change. She rifled through a stack of movies and selected an anime title, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal.

"Ha." Ash took the opportunity to take a seat on the vacated couch now that his mother was no longer sprawled across it. "...Funny."

"So what is it?" She seemed to have regained a bit of spunk as she took a seat next to her child.

"Well..." he paused, "did you really hit dad with a loaf of bread when you met?"

She gave him the oddest 'Where did this come from?' look that she was capable of before bursting into laughter. "Yes...yes I did. Mmm... He was caught so off guard by that, even if he was about to attack me."

Ash took a sniff of the air, but the main scent on his mom was his father's masculine aroma. "...So how did you two get together? What was it about him, I mean...? Dad's like...a cold fish, isn't he?" The boy let a few of his top questions fly.

"Well, this is sudden, though I guess I've been waiting for you to ask…." She put subtitles on the anime so she could keep the sound low and still pay attention. "For him, it started with my scent...he didn't like how I smelled, but at the same time it intrigued him."

"...I don't understand that."

Sara laughed a bit. "Well, there weren't as many Mobians here on Earth, and he...well...he kept to himself a lot. So it was something new…. And then there was the visual attraction, not that I'm in such an attractive form right now," she said with a hand on her belly. Ash continued staring at her, his gaze unusually tense. _'So you did pick up something from your dad...'_ "So...well, I actually thought he was a stalker."

"What?" The boy blinked.

Sara smirked a bit. "Yeah. He didn't have anyone he could really call a friend back then, so he wasn't sure how to approach a woman. Not that you have that problem…." Ash ducked his head a bit sheepishly at that. "...I didn't have any reasons to take interest in him."

"So then...how?" Ash inquired.

"Amy sort of forced him to confront me, and she also forced me to give him a second chance." She thought about Shadow a bit and smiled. "Your dad isn't very open...so finding out he'd tried to let me in...open up...that was very special."

Ash nodded. "So you two just...clicked after that?"

Sara smiled a bit. "More or less. He really tried to change for me..." The smile drew wider on her face. "I didn't have a lot of suitors, you know...and the one person I'd thought loved me was gone from my life." There as a slightly sad look on her face at that. "He just showed me...who he was inside; that took more courage than fighting monsters." She grinned. "I think I can safely say I know him better than anyone else...and he knows me the same way. That's part of having a good relationship."

"So...it wasn't about the sex?"

Sara's cheeks turned red. "**No!**" She then smoothed her quills down and grinned a bit. "Though I can't say it hasn't been fun…." The coy grin on her face made Ash squirm a bit. "It's just not everything... even though we're mates."

Ash sighed. He'd been expecting that kind of answer, though it wasn't essentially his desired response.

"Love doesn't necessarily strike both people at once…it needs to be worked on." She smiled and the two sat in relative quiet, watching the movie. The lead character in that actually had a romance that took time to develop. They wouldn't be able to finish the lengthy movie, however, as the contractions became more regular and grew in intensity.


	14. Troubled Times

Author Notes: Umm... FFnet made a booboo or my going on no sleep for too long! This is the real LT 14!

* * *

"M-mom?" Ash's face washed with concern.

"Ahh...I think you're going to have to take me to the MRC," Sara said and hit the speed dial for Shadow's cell number. "H...hello? Hon?" She started meekly, "I think it's time." She smiled even though Ash could hear muffled yelling through the earpiece. "Yes...I know, don't worry...Ash is going to take me..." She paused and listened to Shadow. "I love you too." She hung up and smiled proudly. "Well?"

"R-right." Like other Mobians, he had more strength in his lithe form than would be believed. Carrying his mother wasn't a physical problem; it was just awkward since he'd never done it before. Though Sara managed to relax her face, she felt rather tense as she clung to her son damsel style.

The boy had done a lot of running through the city either on his own or with his father. At times, he'd even tried keeping up with Blitz and Rift, so he was familiar with the territory. His mind, however, was full of both the conversation he'd had not long ago and a sudden panic over the fact she was about to give birth. Not that he knew exactly how long it took to give birth, but it was going to happen, and soon at that.

Sara attempted to focus on something other than her own discomfort. That was turning out to be a difficult task, as the dizzying speeds they were traveling at were making her nauseous. Normally, it wasn't a big deal; she'd been carried by Shadow plenty of times to get used to and even enjoy the rush of speed. But today, it made her cold and nauseous, which had happened the last time she delivered.

One of Sara's groans alerted Ash, who paid attention to her rather than the traffic. "You okay?"

"Ye--Ash! TRUCK!" The sky blue hedgehog's eyes widened in alarm.

Ash didn't miss a beat and quickly took flight, his feet barely grazing the hood of the truck as he launched off of it and against the side of a nearby building. "Sorry, Mom!" He winced a bit at the near collision.

Sara sighed a bit, "No harm done..." She glanced at their horizontal run along a vertical stretch of buildings and her stomach felt worse for the wear. "Uhg...could we get back on level ground?"

Ash nodded nervously, his ears catching the sounds of his nauseated mother fighting to hold down her lunch. He was really starting to worry now, which didn't help his focus. He hadn't really considered the part of mating that cited children as a consequence, and there was no way for him to understand the kind of pain that his mother felt. It was just a big helpless feeling he had as he did the only thing he could for her--get her to the MRC.

He flattened out his ears as he heard his mother give a whimper. '_What now?'_ he thought, though that was quickly answered as a gush of fluids soiled his arm and ran down his favorite jacket. "...Don't tell me..." his tone was a little queasy and his steps faltering a bit.

"...Water broke...yeah." Sara closed her eyes and tried to regain a normal breathing pattern, though that quickly eluded her. While he was slowed down, she got a good look at where they were. '_Crap._' "You went too far, the MRC building's a few blocks back..." She flipped her cell phone open and clicked on the Navigator. It had trouble keeping up with the pair, however, as it issued commands a hair late.

"I got it...I got it!" Ash said apprehensively. He quickly turned a corner, almost running into an old lady. '_My old man would never have this kind of trouble...'_ His haste to get away from her put the pair in the line of incoming traffic. If he thought he was panicked before, the guy speeding in the Dodge Viper was definitely moving up on his priority list of things to worry about. "_Chaos Control!"_ the boy shouted, and the world screeched to a halt. His knee bumped against the vehicle as he finished the command. His heart was racing miles faster than his body was as he darted to safety, on the proper side of the street. "D...Damn that was close…."

Sara whined a bit, her eyes closed tightly now as her body was wracked with pain from a new contraction. "H-hurry…."

Ash nodded miserably and continued his hasty sprint down the busy streets, the Chaos Control fading away. _"You are here,"_ the sound of the cell phone navigator said as the boy finally stopped at the MRC. _"Thank you for using V-Navigator."_

* * *

Once the two hedgehogs were inside the building, things seemed to take on a different pace. Sara was expected, having phoned ahead before they left the apartment. They were also joined by Maria and Chase before Sara was ushered into a delivery room. The cell phone silence was probably the worst part of the visit, as all were certain Shadow would go nuts being out of contact.

Once Ash settled down a bit, it was brought to his attention that his jacket was soaked with birthing fluids. He quickly rid himself of the jacket and washed up in the men's room. Then began the terrible waiting game. He paced back and forth in the lobby while his sister and brother-in-law had the luxury of a waiting room. When Grandpa Chuck arrived, the situation was explained as best Ash knew it, and he went to join the others. Now it was just a matter of his father getting there.

Eventually a black and red streak bolted into the lobby, and Ash sighed in relief…at least, until his father roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and glared at him as though he were going to rip his head off. "Where is she?" he breathed with a guttural growl accompanying it.

"Ummm..." Ash began to sweat, "I dunno...they took...took her to the delivery room...everyone's in the waiting room," he managed to spit out.

Shadow spun him around and spurred him on roughly by shoving him forward. "Show me."

Ash nodded, his ears still folded back as he led his father to the waiting room for the delivery. Shadow didn't wait for any nurses to guide him and stormed into the back rooms after his mate. The younger hedgehog just stood there in a bewildered state.

"What's his problem?" he inquired concerning his father.

The others looked at each other, but it was the aging grayish-blue hedgehog who spoke up first, "He's just worried about Sara, that's all."

"He has a funny way of showing it," Ash snorted and finally took a seat.

"Well...your mother hasn't been quick about contacting him when there's a problem." Charles sighed a bit. "Your jacket's proof of that."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Ash blinked. "Isn't that a sign that labor's started?" He tilted his head to one side.

"Not usually," Maria replied calmly. "It's actually more common _late_ in delivery."

Ash paled. "Shadow's been there for both your births; he's not about to miss this one," Charles continued. He chuckled a bit. "She's a funny girl, you know? Never had problems with the doctor or saying what's wrong, but when it came to medications or actually going for a visit to the doctor...well...that was another story."

The teen nodded lightly. "So...she was probably in pain before I caught on, huh?"

"Probably," Maria answered, her expression soft. "It's all right, though, it's just one of those things..."

* * *

For once, Shadow was being held off by the nurses rather than allowed close to his mate. "What gives?" he growled lowly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shadow, but there's some...complications," the female platypus said apologetically.

Shadow's quills bristled even worse at that, and he slapped her aside. "All the more reason for me to be at her side!" he growled fiercely and entered the delivery room. His heart about stopped when he saw a few blood soaked rags sitting in a metal pan and blood soaked through the sheet covering his mate. "..W...what happened?" his voice seemed to get lost in his throat. '_It's like that dream...'_

"Mr. Shadow, please," the platypus asked again, putting a hand on his shoulder, even if it was slapped aside moments later.

"Petunia, you shouldn't let him do that." A human nurse frowned at the Mobian nurse.

"He's just upset..." she replied and tried to hold him back. "It is excessive bleeding, but we've got it under control," she attempted to assure the irate one.

Dr. Malory was Sara's doctor this time, as Quack had just retired and Dr. Garrett was away to Mobius. She was a female mallard, and while she was a reputable doctor and female, it gave little comfort to Shadow. There hadn't been _complications_ with the first two births, so why now? Sara's insistence that a female doctor would be a good idea because she understood women personally seemed like a kind of weak excuse at the moment.

The duck eventually turned to Shadow, concern etched in her eyebrows. She weighed out the pros and cons of having him there, though the look on Sara's pained face was reason enough to let him stay. "Stay calm...keep breathing like you were told," she said softly to the female hedgehog before turning to her mate. The blood on her scrubs were not exactly quelling his fears. "Mr. Shadow..." she said firmly, "you may stay at your mate's side, but I do not want you causing a scene. We are here to _help_ and assist in child birth in any way deemed necessary. I doubt there's anything you can do right now aside offer her emotional support to begin with. I must stress, however, that if this does escalate into a medical emergency, you will be asked to leave."

Shadow gave a resigned sigh, and the nurses parted so he could stand by Sara's side. She looked worse off this time than last, thoroughly soaked with sweat, and tears clinging to her cheeks. He wasted no time taking her hand and nuzzling her ear gently, ignoring the scents of blood and tears.

"I'm here," he said softly.

A small smile curled Sara's lips briefly. "Sorry I didn't call sooner," she replied.

Shadow grunted lightly. He just stroked her hand at this point, though the nightmare he'd had not long ago was coming back to haunt him. "Just get through this…."

The doctors and nurses were more alert with this delivery. Dr. Malory kept an efficient staff nearby who responded to her every command quickly and without hesitation. Shadow had attempted to ignore the commands issued that didn't relate to the normal things he was used to hearing in childbirth. Typically the doctor had encouraged Sara, and even struck up mundane conversation to keep her mind occupied. Not this time. He kind of wished he was better at thinking up things to say.

"...Got a name picked out yet?" he said finally while Sara was resting from a contraction; they were less than five minutes apart already, so the baby would be here soon.

"Yuki if it's a boy, and Ayame if it's a girl," Sara replied in a barely audible whisper.

Shadow wrinkled his nose. Ever since her first pregnancy she'd entertained the idea of giving the baby a Japanese name. Then again, for all the trouble she was going through, he'd name the kid Shit-face if it would help. "...Why those names?"

Sara waited for the contraction to pass before speaking. "Yuki means snow...Ayame is a word for iris..." She smiled a bit. "All the black in your fur, snow would be a funny name, wouldn't it? Or Ayame, since Iris is the goddess of the rainbow..."

"You like rainbows too much…." Shadow gently stroked his fingers through her quills.

This was actually Sara's shortest labor, but also the most intense. With more medical staff circling around, it had a much more urgent feel to it. Also different from the births before, the baby was withheld from the mother until they made sure that any bleeding was under control. It was hard to tell right away if the blood was her own or the baby's. Dr. Malory made the suggestion of keeping the umbilical blood for a possible transfusion for either mother or child, to which Shadow quickly agreed.

"Is the baby all right?" Shadow asked as one of the nurses tried to walk off with the child. He strode up behind the platypus, his shadow resting over her menacingly.

"Oh, no, Mr. Shadow, she seems fine." She smiled a bit.

"Show me," he stated.

The nurse was a bit unsettled at his tone, and quickly turned to him and parted the cloth wrapped around the infant. "Ayame, right? She's beautiful."

Shadow could only stare, his eyes wide with shock. The black bundle had no traces of her mother in her fur at all; not one marking was Sara's. Though she was still wet from birth, there was no mistaking that the matted down fur on her chest was a small white patch, or that her black body had red stripes just like his. The only deviation from his markings at all was a small tuft of white on her forehead that would one day be lush bangs. '_Please let her eyes be brown...'_ he begged mentally. He was rather disappointed when she opened her eyes...her blood red eyes.

"Is there a problem?" the nurse asked, noting the concern in his eyes.

"No..." He took Ayame into his arms and cradled her close. "Sara just needs to see her first," he replied and headed back to his mate in spite of protests. _'This isn't because of my alien blood...it's just a physical trait, that's all...'_

Sara was a bit more worn out than usual, barely keeping conscious from the blood loss. She'd probably need an infusion, an assessment Dr. Malory was making while the afterbirth and mess were being taken care of, but the bleeding had been stopped. Still, she managed a smile at Shadow, and actually looked delighted at their child's coloration.

"...Happy?" he asked softly and showed the infant to Sara.

She took Ayame into her arms and gently licked her face and ears. It was an ancient motherly instinct, though it also served to mark her with her mother's scent and acted as the first bonds between them outside the womb. "Of course." her gentle smile lingered on the child. "She looks just like you."

"...I wish she had your eyes." He kissed her forehead.

Sara laughed a bit. "Brown is so common...I like your red eyes." She handed the baby back to Shadow. "I love you, darling." She closed her eyes contentedly.

"...I love you too," he responded, but softly, directly in her ear that no one else could hear. A few minutes later, Dr. Malory had him ejected from the delivery room and Ayame surrendered to a nurse, being told to wait in one of the rooms down the hall. It had been a nerve racking day, and it still seemed far from over. At least he had some good news on the birth...but the disturbing aspects he kept to himself.


	15. Relationships

The first night back from the hospital, Shadow kept a tight watch on both Sara and the baby. He had plenty of reason to; Sara had needed a blood transfusion for starters, so she wasn't exactly up for much activity. Newborns required a lot of attention, naturally, so just the crying alone kept Shadow playing interference.

It wasn't long before the piercing noise of a baby testing her lungs filled his ears. He looked over to Sara, who had just recently gotten to sleep, and he wasn't about to wake her. He slipped out of their bedroom and into the nursery.

It was like it was the first child they'd had all over again. He was at a loss for what to do, though he knew very well what he had to do. The wailing child just wanted to be held right now. She'd been fed two hours ago and diaper changed fifteen minutes ago.

"Don't cry…." he said softly, and brushed his hand against her very fine, short fur. Of course, the child continued to wail, and he looked at her in a slightly helpless way.

He tried to tell himself there was nothing special about her coloration, but the nightmare was tugging at the back if his mind. '_Sara's going to wake up if she keeps wailing like that...'_ Shadow swallowed his fears and very gently picked the girl up into his arms.

A very familiar act began as the child snuggled up against the white tuft of fur on his chest. Suddenly, Shadow and the child were both at ease, the crying ceasing into instant cooing. He could remember when Maria did the same, and even Ash at one point. He no longer considered the typical attention to his chest fur annoying; Sara had given him enough massages to see to that.

He sighed softly and sat back on the rocking chair. He knew from two children now that you don't just hold one for two seconds and set it down the next. He lightly stroked her behind the ears and cradled her close, his fears quickly abating. Her dark little form was hard to see against just a night light, but the warmth of her body was comforting.

"Your dad's a horrible alien jerk, you know...?" he sighed softly. Ayame looked up at him with her bright crimson eyes. He smiled a bit at that. "Hope you take after your mom." He lightly kissed the top of her head and set the baby back in the crib, rewarded by her silence for at least another hour.

* * *

While Maria and Chase had planned on returning to Mobius just following the birth of her baby sister, she decided to stick around until her mom was fully recovered. Sara had required a blood transfusion, and though she was on the mend, she was a bit worse for the wear than usual. The suggestion that Maria and Chase spend a few days at their house was not rejected by Shadow, who had more to think about than they knew.

At the moment, Maria was busying herself in the kitchen making lunch. Chase had gone off to the grocery store and her father was at work. This meant that Ash was the only other resident aside the once again mother and newborn. She noticed her brother watching her stir a boiling pot of rice and arched a brow.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me like that?" she inquired.

"No...not really," Ash replied. "Whatcha making?"

"Steamed rice, dumplings, and mixed veggies," Maria responded crisply. She turned back to a cutting board and started dicing some vegetables.

"Oh...sounds healthy." He paused. "You look kind of like mom doing that."

Maria chuckled, "I guess I do." She checked a timer and then looked at the food she'd cut up. It wouldn't be done in time. "But I'm a bit more like Dad in some ways." She smirked . Speed wasn't restricted to foot movement for the hedgehogs, and the fact an emerald was in their house made it easy for her to manipulate time as needed. Three seconds left on the clock, everything was cut and prepped for the next step in cooking.

"...Show off." He rolled his eyes.

"So what's wrong with me being like Mom?" Maria reached for an apple and tossed it at him.

He caught it and took a bite. "Nothing..."

"Does it have to do with the fact Mom almost died giving birth?" she put in casually and started seasoning the mixture of meat and veggies she made before wrapping them in uncooked noodles.

Ash paled. "It was really that bad..?" he asked mutely.

Maria nodded. "Yeah. Well, you know they had to give her a blood transfusion. They were lucky to get the bleeding under control when they did."

"I...didn't know." Ash lowered his head. "It's...so um...how easy is it for a girl to get pregnant anyhow?"

The female hedgehog twitched an ear and considered it for a minute. "Depends on a few factors...of course if you're in heat and haven't had a baby before, the chances are extremely high." She chuckled. "We're kind of like Earth animals that way...one time's all it takes...that's why most Mobian couples have their first offspring within a year of taking a mate."

Ash took another bite of his apple, his cheeks flushing pink. "Oh..."

"Kind of not fair in a way, y'know? One male can impregnate dozens...but a lot of female Mobians have a hard time having a second kid," she continued, and started up one of the burners, heating some garlic oil in it. "That is...you know, if the guy's _fooling around_ with a bunch of women." She laughed a bit. "But most Mobian species are pretty serious about mating."

"Yeah." Ash's cheeks took on a more crimson tint. "So...uh...you and Chase...expecting yet?"

"Can't you tell?" Maria grinned. The contents of the pan sizzled as she lay the dumplings down in them for frying.

"How could I?"

"Scent. Pheromone changes." She shrugged. "Sometimes it's kind of subtle, especially if you have a mate that's really good about reinforcing his scent mark on you." Maria chuckled, "But yes."

"Whoa...that was fast." Ash looked at his sister, a bit surprised. Her stomach didn't show any signs of extra pounds.

"Not really." She checked the rice again and turned off the burner. She then took it over to the sink and strained the water out.

As Maria prepared the food, the sound of a baby crying caught Ash's ears. "Uhg...she carries on like that every five minutes..."

Maria laughed, "Not that bad…. Hey, why don't you tell Mom that lunch is about done? She really needs her strength, you know." She tilted her head to her brother, who nodded and left the room quietly. _I wonder if he's taken a mate in secret…or if he's playing around…. I hope not._

* * *

A few days later, Ash was cruising the town, feeling lost. The doses of reality he'd been taking recently were starting to wear on him. Mommy almost died giving birth to his baby sister, his older sister was pregnant, his friend Sabo had a girlfriend, and Vinnie had come out with a girl of his own, so he and Sabo were double dating, which meant he was out of the loop there. Eddie was still grounded, so his choice of people he liked hanging out with consisted of two particular girls and one's brother.

The Prower home had been a second home to him, as he often hung around with Kit and/or Tracey. His last visit to the house had been to visit Tracey and the two of them had become quite seriously involved--not quite to the point of becoming mates, but that was Tracey's restraint far more than his own.

He knocked at the door, and Tail's son Kit answered the call. "Hey, man. What's up? Trace' around?" Ash smiled his best.

Kit's clear blue eyes fell on him harshly. "Yeah. She's here."

"Umm...any reason for the sudden drop in temperature?"

"Dunno...you tell me why my sister was up last night crying?" Kit shrugged.

Ash's ears fell backward. "I...don't know."

Kit snorted. "Thought so, well, if you figure it out, I'd kind of like to know... Maybe Lilly knows?" he suggested.

"Hey...it's not like we're serious, you know…." Ash backed up a couple steps, his two-tailed friend not seeming so friendly.

"Then I suggest not...you know...putting your scent on other women," Kit said darkly.

Ash lowered his eyes. "...I..." he sighed a bit, "I guess I'm not allowed to see her, huh?"

"Why don't you take that up with Lilly first?" He turned back into the house and slammed the door in the hedgehog's face.

Dejected, Ash picked up and started up his run again. Maybe Lilly wouldn't be mad at him. He ran a finger through his quills and drew out his cell phone. Tracey's number was at the top of the list, but he was sure she didn't want to hear from him at the moment.

He scrolled down the list, coming on Hannah's cell phone number. She wasn't kiss and tell, and he was pretty sure he could get to mating with her and still not commit...though recent events taken into account, he was scared to death she'd get pregnant. The human idea of contraceptives was looking good to him right now. Too bad she was off doing a concert on Mobius...

He clicked Lilly's number and was relieved when she picked up. "Hey? Lil'?"

"_Lillian darling,_" her voice came as sultry as her mother's.

"Ohh, is that how it is now?" He grinned a bit. His feet kicked off a wall and he changed his course toward Lilly's house.

"_If you want...but I have to warn you..."_

Ash furrowed his brows a bit. "Huh?"

_"I am the jealous type,"_ her voice drifted through the phone's ear piece with a dangerous edge to its silky tone. "_My dad got wind that you've been seen with Hannah, is that right? Oh, and let's not forget about Tracey. That's really bad sportsmanship...going after someone's best friend."_

A sudden sinking feeling came over the teen. Her _dad_ was none other than Nack the Weasel, known once upon a time as "Fang the Sniper." If pops didn't like him, he was pretty sure he'd know it by a gaping hole in his skull. "Heh...I know you, Lil'..._Lillian_...don't worry about Hannah." He tried to pull his breathing under control; it wasn't the run that was changing his breathing rhythms. "...Think it's safe for me to come over?"

"_Mmm...not having second thoughts, are you? I mean...that's the __**only**__ reason I wouldn't want to see you."_

Ash paused a bit and headed up the side of a building. Rooftops were easier to run along and less hazardous than being distracted in traffic and pedestrians. "...You mean you want to go all the way?"

_"Well, I'm not giving you 'French' lessons for free, y' know? I am expecting a commitment at some point…."_ she trailed off. Her voice returned in its deep, alluring tone, "_Don't think that we bats aren't faithful, you know….. Oh we have our expectations...but I'm sure you can hold up your end of the deal."_

Panic surged through the boy's mind. He wasn't ready for this, at least, not with her. _'Damnit….'_ Eddie had once suggested paying for a night's experience, but fear of STDs held him back from that offer. "Can we have a couple more dates first, maybe? Not that I'm not interested...it's just timing, y'know? I was just hoping we could hang out a bit…."

There was a pause on Lilly's end of the line. _"...Well...okay, but seriously, my dad's getting sick of you playing around. Just...make up your mind, will you? Much more and my dad's going to crack...and with you flirting Tracey too..."_ her voice became very soft, _"...it could be dangerous. Not that I mind if your lips have a little extra experience...you taste like cherries...but...seriously...I am dying to take a mate, and I need to know if you'll be there for me!"_ Ash came to a stop on the rooftop of the building Lilly lived in as he was saying his goodbyes to the lavender bat over the phone.

He stayed up there a while, thinking about his prospects. Neither of his main interests, Lilly and Tracey, even knew about Lara-su. He'd taken interest in her during their last vacation to the Floating Island. He had her number in his phone too. It was a brief but intense relationship, ending with Lara upset that he'd be returning to Earth with his family. He was well old enough to live where he wanted, though he was a bit afraid to stray from home, truth be told. She'd proven she was a good fighter like her father, competent with firearms like her mother, she knew the ins and outs of the city, and loved extreme sports. Her favorite color was purple, she liked grapes as much as her dad did, and she liked taking risks. The two of them had taken a few risks exploring some of the more dangerous (and consequently, secluded) sections of the island. Her father was the Guardian, and though the system was starting to break down, she was next in line for the job. She'd also disclosed to them that echidnas tended to develop strong feelings quickly for those they took for mates; and she had some pretty strong feelings toward him.

_'So let's see...a Guardian's daughter...a bounty hunter…an ex-agent's daughter...a songstress…or an aerial ace inventive genius' daughter,'_ Ash thought to himself. Two of the prospects had dangerous elements involved, especially if all he wanted was to _fool around_ or get some _experience_. He liked Lara-su's strong and adventurous spirit, but he didn't much care about the stuck up echidnas or the idea of being second to her Guardian status. Lilly herself wasn't dangerous, having decided to go for a career as a fashion designer under Amy's tutelage, and her physical form and pliable nature made her a strong candidate for a love affair. Long term, however, he hated keeping up on fashion, and her independent side probably wouldn't like it when he'd inevitably turn down socializing in her circle of friends...it was definitely a mostly physical attraction he felt with her. He didn't really see himself lasting with Hannah either...he liked her music and all, but that was it after physical looks.

Tracey, on the other hand...she'd been his friend since they were little. He knew all about her aspirations as an architect (and once, robot manufacturer). She was friendly and upbeat like her father. She enjoyed flying, either under her own power or one of her father's propulsion units, and could keep up with him rather well by flying or using Gears. She wasn't afraid of hard work or getting her hands dirty, which Ash had always admired about her. You'd be hard pressed to find a speck of dirt on Lilly's delicate hands. Half the time he came over, she was picking splinters out of her fingers or had an ice pack on her latest concussive bruise. There was something sweet about that, and an inclination in him to want to help her out. It had been difficult for him to pry a first kiss out of her, but it was sweeter than all the ones he'd shared with Lilly combined.

The young hedgehog sighed as he realized the answer he'd been searching for was in front of him the whole time. He didn't need to do anything to impress his longtime girl friend...and kissing on Lilly was only hurting her. He dropped down the side of the building to Lilly's window and knocked a couple times. "Hey, Lil? I think we need to talk..." he said as he perched on the windowsill after she opened up.

"I think so too." She smiled knowingly.


	16. Choices Made

A tone beeped on Tracey's cell phone. The girl unclipped it from a holder on her belt and checked it out. _'Another text message.'_ She frowned. A couple of keystrokes, and it was quickly deleted.

"...Not even going to check?" her brother inquired, having looked over at her from one of the numerous computer terminals in the Prower home. There was at least one monitor in every room, and the living room had five computers in it, all hooked up to a LAN.

"Nope," Tracey returned, smoothing her fur out and stepping over to Unit 3, a pink cased computer that had a pearlescent finish to it.

Kit sighed, "It's been a month...you could at least _answer_ one of his e-mails, couldn't you?" he pleaded. Kit had been on the receiving end of most of Ash's apologies, and while that was a relief to his ears; Tracey wanted no part of it. This left him in the odd "middle" position, caught between friend and family. "Please? Before I go nuts?"

Tracey rolled her eyes as her delicate fingers glided over the keyboard. "...Maybe." Her cell phone began to ring, and the tone was the game over music heard at the end of Mario 2. "...Ash…." she sighed and denied the call.

"I know he's a jerk but, shit, aren't you being kind of hard on him?" Kit dared, averting his eyes from his sister's venomous glare.

"After the kind of thing he's been doing? Not to mention the whole Hannah thing?" she snorted, motioning her gaze to a rag magazine sitting on the living room table. It sported a full page picture of Ash and Hannah in what could only be described as a "_deep kiss."_ "Or should I bring Lilly into it?"

Kit gave a defeated sigh and threw his hands up in the air. "Okay, okay! But you know they aren't an item any more than Sonic and Mina were an item."

Tracey gave a frazzled sigh and pulled up a Wiki on Sonic and Mina. "HA! They _were_ an item!"

Kit got up and looked over her shoulder at the article. "...Yeah. Yeah...stupid me. Yes. You're right. They were an item...when Sonic was being impersonated by a faker and when his relationship with Sally was on the rocks...nope. Doesn't look like he was unfaithful to Amykins, eh?" He took the following punch to his shoulder with a laugh.

"No…." she muttered, and silenced another call on her cell phone.

Soon, there was a knock at the door, and Tracey's tails bristled. Kit simply rolled his eyes as the brownish fox moved to answer it. "If it's Ash, I swear I'll kick him in the nuts for you," he said calmly, and opened the side door, which slid open rather than swung open. "Yo! Prower residence." One look at the dark purple hedgehog in front of him told him all he needed to know, especially with the hunk of scrap he was toting around; the teen laughed. "Broke yet _another_ board, Blitz?"

Tracey relaxed a bit when it was revealed Sonic's eldest son was there rather than Shadow's only brat.

"Yeah yeah. I was taking it on a test fly." The boy grinned widely. "Glad my own two feet don't need air to scoot," he spoke up proudly, tapping the toes of one foot to the ground.

Kit smirked and shook his head at the elder teen. "Where were you '_testing' _it? A volcano?"

Blitz's grin widened. "Yes."

The surprise on the fox's face lasted only a fraction of a second before he laughed. "Take pictures next time, I want a record of how you're trashing these to post on YouTube." Though the pair didn't hang out like their respective fathers, there was a familiarity between the two and a similar bond.

Blitz smirked. "So, your dad around? I kinda have a tourney to attend like...in an hour."

Kit tried his best not to laugh, but the mused smile on his face widened. "Oh man...well no, Pops is out right now…. " He tilted his head to one side, examining the twisted and burnt piece of metal. It really needed to be completely rebuilt. "I could tool around with it a bit, but I'm not a miracle worker."

"Crud." Blitz sighed, "And I got a race against Chase too! I can't--"

The fox put up a hand at his protests. "Hold on. I can give you a loaner board, though...but you have _got_ to get it back to me in one piece!"

"...Would ya settle for two?" He ducked his head to avoid a swipe from the fox and the hedgehog laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll be careful!"

"You and the word careful are an oxymoron," Tracey finally spoke up with a grin on her face. She wasn't particularly close to the "fancy foot clan," as her friends liked to refer to the Sonic family...but that didn't mean they weren't friends.

"Ahh! Trace, good to see you're alive. I was beginnin' to wonder. Ash says you two ain't talkin'."

_'Oh brother...'_ Kit gave his friend a warning glance "Err...I'll go get the board...be riiight back!" He hurried off, dragging the broken board with him.

"Ehh? Did I say something wrong?" Blitz's face contorted in confusion.

"Sort of...Ash and I are no longer friends," Tracey explained flatly.

The purple hedgehog whistled. "Rough…." He paused. "You two are like peanut butter and chili."

"Say what?" She stared at the Blue Blur's speedy son with an oddly quizzical gaze.

He shrugged. "I like both and you go together. You should try peanut butter and pizza. Mmm…." Blitz grinned at the thought.

"..Make me hurl," Tracey grumbled as her phone rang again... Silence.

Blitz gave a slightly concerned look. "You okay, Trace?" She was about to answer before his cell phone went off. "Hold on…." He flipped open the phone after hooking up his ear buds. "Hey! Yo! Ash! Long time, bud. Eh? The Prowers? Yeah, they're alive, I--" he caught the look on Tracey's face, "I totaled another board...was gonna ask Tails for another tune-up…heh." There was a bit of silence on Blitz's end while he listened to the younger hedgehog talk to him. He tapped his foot while listening impatiently.

Tracey sat back down at the third terminal but continued giving Blitz dirty looks as though he were Ash.

"Dude, I am not a matchmaker. Talk to Amy or Lilly or someone who knows about girlie stuff," Blitz said in reply to whatever the hedgehog on the other end was saying. "Okay, okay, I'll tell her. Sheesh. How many girls you been kissin' on, man?" He paused, frowning at the reply, then shock set in. "_LARA?!_ Ash? I'm personally kicking your ass for that one..._not cool!_" He hung on the line a bit longer. "...Heh... Tighten that noose a bit more, will ya? And as photogenic as you are, I really don't want to see you and Lara on the cover of some tabloid like ya did with Hannah, okay?" Another pause. "Yeah. And I am really kicking your ass," his voice sounded unusually stern as he snapped the phone shut and removed the ear buds.

"...So that was Ash 'the player' Hedgehog?" Tracey snorted.

"Yeah," Blitz replied casually. "Asshole had a make-out session with Lara-su last summer it seems."

"Knuckles' daughter, right?" It had been a while since Tracey and Kit were on Mobius. Though they'd all played together at one point, she had few memories of the pink and lavender echidna. He nodded to her. "He really is an asshole."

Blitz shrugged. "Eh, it was a year ago." He scratched at his ear much the same way his father did. His cheeks flushed a bit.

Tracey didn't miss his reaction and quirked a brow. "So...racing taken you to the island recently??"

"A few times," he said dismissively. "Anyway...Ash said he wants to see you sometime."

"I'll bet." She rolled her eyes.

"At least he's an admitted jerk." Blitz shrugged. "Hey, you look like you need to cool down, wanna come to the Gear tourney with me?"

"Eh?? Oh I..."

"Here ya go! Wild Cloud Mk III," Kit said as he reentered the living room and set down a blue Gear board with white cloud decals on it. It was a bit fatter than the boards Blitz was used to, but it still looked rather impressive.

"Hey! Not bad!" The hedgehog smiled. "But does it have to be a wide board? I kinda like slims…."

Kit laughed, "Well, sure, but the only slims in the house belong to me and my dad...I'm seriously not trusting you there. Nothin' personal. Unless you want to ask Trace' to borrow the 9 Tails."

"Oooh...now _that_ sounds like a sweet board!" Blitz beamed.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Sure, you don't have a problem with hot pink and red, right?"

That statement broke his smirk and the hedgehog shrugged. "Probably an aerial type anyway...those things are big windbags. Well...thanks, man, I'm ready to go." He tilted his head back to Tracey. "Offer's still open."

"You know what? I think I will." Tracey rose from the computer desk once more and grabbed the straps of a small book bag in the form of a Popple. She stuffed a couple of things into its pouch before heading over to Blitz's side energetically. She slipped an arm through his and smiled. "Let's go."

Kit raised a brow at the exchange, certain something was up with her. He held his peace until his own cell phone started ringing.

* * *

"Are you trying to call Tracey again?" Sara asked from the couch. She looked much healthier now, as did the little bundle of joy seated on her belly while she sprawled out on said couch.

"Yes..." Ash sulked.

"She's gonna get a restraining order at this point," Sara replied, gently stroking her daughter's head along the edge of the red streak starting at the center of her forehead. The child giggled and nuzzled up against her hand in a catlike manner, causing her to laugh.

"Dad told me to be persistent," Ash replied and shuffled over to the couch. His baby sister certainly didn't seem to take after their father at this point. She was energetic, bright eyed, and clingy. "Heya, scamp."

Sara smiled a bit. "Persistence is one thing, harassment's another. I'm surprised Sonic never pressed charges against Amy now that I think about it." It was all the motherly hedgehog could do to give her baby space and not smother her in her arms. She just wanted to hold the babe constantly, which was doable, but she also recognized the need to give her some freedoms.

"Kit told me she's going to the Gear tournament," the blue and black hedgehog put in.

"You going?" She raised a brow. The baby struggled to get to her knees on the furry belly but kept tilting to one side or the other, Sara using a gentle hand to guide her back to the center. Eventually the child made it to the point where her balled up baby fist was sunk against her neck. "Silly...!" She picked Ayame up and lay her back on her belly.

"I might..." Ash frowned a bit.

"Well, she's not seeing anyone yet, so that's a good sign at least, right?" Sara encouraged. Ayame began fussing and slapped a hand down on one of Sara's breasts, which was covered by a tank top today. _'Tell me you aren't hungry again...'_

Ash's cheeks turned red, though it wasn't clear if the question or his sister's tactless plea for milk was the source of it. "...Not like she's a boy crazy teen or somethin'." He quirked a brow, wondering if his mom would give her an on the spot feeding. "Does she always...?"

Sara chuckled. "No. But you did, quite a bit." She smiled at his embarrassment. "It's natural. Well...maybe you'll see her at the tourney?" She sat up, cradling the little one to her chest, the child more anxiously tugging at the top of her shirt. "Just a minute, Ayame-baby! Mommy won't let you starve." She took a last glance at her son before heading into the den to tend to her youngest.

Ash sighed and turned to the door. Another black and red hedgehog, this one much taller than little Ayame, blocked his path. "Hi, Dad."

"Going somewhere?" he asked dryly. He kind of missed being "Daddy" or "Papa," but at least Ash wasn't calling him "Pops" today.

The teen shrugged. "Gear Park...tournament today."

"Tracey's there?" The look in his son's eye told him what he needed. The boy had been tethered to his phone since his rejection a month ago, and he was desperately waiting for a second chance. He knew how important those chances could be, though he had to remind himself that Tracey wasn't Sara, and Ash wasn't him... Circumstances were different, but the same ends were desired. "...Still mad at you?"

"Dad, I don't want to talk about it," he protested and turned for the door again.

Shadow stayed quiet a bit. His boy seemed to be good at hooking women's interest, it was the follow-up he had problems with. Shadow had been the reverse. _'Quite a switch, eh?' _He had only a moment to say something, if anything, before the boy would head out the door. "Hey, Ash...?" he called softly.

"What?" His tone was flat, though it had a small hint of bitter undercurrents.

"...I'm glad you've finally settled down…. I just hope she accepts you."

Ash had the door open about halfway before his father said that. He paused and glanced at his cell phone...full of unanswered messages. "...Thanks." Maybe today would be different.

* * *

"Look...not that I'm ungrateful for the loaner board..." Blitz began, the Extreme Gear tucked under an arm, "...but I don't think you and me _pretending_ to date is a good idea..." He threw the board down, the piece floating inches off the ground while he got on and gave it a few tests in one of the practice zones. "I got enough on my plate trying to win races."

"After Ash cheated on me?? I really want to burn him alive for that!" Tracey bristled. She remembered their first kiss quite well, and others would follow...he'd even given her a few small licks behind the ear. Part of her was glad she hadn't let him do more, but she really wanted to burn him for yanking her chain.

The purple hedgehog did a few flips, his hands behind his head, completely relaxed. "Ehh...it's stupid. He's a teenager still. What good's it gonna do ya to pretend to be with me?"

"Jealousy," she replied swiftly. "See how he likes it. Not like it'll be serious...you're sweet on Lara-su, right?"

Blitz's board wobbled a bit at that and his shade seemed to become more violet than purple. "Ahh...well, that's another reason I shouldn't."

"You two official?" She crossed her fingers.

"Nah nah... But I gotta be careful with her, y'know? Knux and Pops never had a really good relationship. Mouth off one minute, and you're sent flying across the room. She's the same way." Blitz looked a bit unnerved by that. She had a very good right hook...the left wasn't bad either. And she had cute toes...he'd seen them just before they slammed into his face once in a sparring match. Fighting wasn't his first love, but she was forcing him to reconsider.

"Just a couple days, okay? It won't be any trouble...just hold me and stuff…." Tracey said, giving a small pout to her lower lip.

Blitz rolled his emerald eyes. "It's the '_and stuff'_ I'm worried about." He paused in thought a moment, looking at the younger vixen. She was very attractive; he could definitely see how Ash could fall for her. She wasn't voluptuous like Lilly, but she had a kind of "cute" charm in her lithe orange frame. Her bangs were all in a messed up clump of three main strands like her father, but the hair she had trailed more than half way down her back, something certainly nice to run your fingers through. "Am I going to have to kiss you?" he asked like it was some sort of chore.

Tracey thought about it and tilted her head toward the entrance of the sectioned off training center. Her tails bristled a bit as she caught sight of Ash. "...Yes."

"...You owe me. I dunno what yet, but you owe me. And if Lara-su even _thinks_ it's the real deal, I'm pounding you and Ash into the deepest hole I can find and sealing the entrance, okay?" Blitz rode the board to a stop a couple feet from the girl and hopped off the board, kicking it into his waiting hand.

"Okay, okay, I got it..." She gave an anxious look at the ruby-eyed hedgehog heading toward them. "Make it convincing and I'll see to it Daddy gets you the ultra-slim Speed Surge XS."

A slow grin crept onto the purple hedgehog's lips, his brilliant whites shining at the prospect. "Get ready for 'convincing' then." He smirked, putting an arm around the vixen, carefully timing his moves with Ash's stunned form. If he thought seeing his arm around her was something, the sight of them in a heavy lip lock with board cast aside carelessly would send him into a mental frenzy. _'I just hope you remember this is _pretend_ and you asked for _convincing_...'_ he thought inwardly as he tasted the honey-sweet lips of the twin-tailed fox.


	17. Emotional Bombshell

After a bit of questioning, Ash found out that Blitz and Tracey had been seen together at the training area. There was nothing unusual about that; the twin foxes enjoyed watching Gear races and had done their share of competing in Gear competitions as well. Being natural mechanics made the maintenance on their Gears top notch. They could always find someone in need of a last minute tune-up, and in most cases, they couldn't resist.

What the sky blue and black hedgehog hadn't figured on happening was the scene before him when he arrived at the training zone. After pushing through the usual crowd of Mobians and humans, some competing or supporting, he found Tracey...in a very tight lip lock with Blitz of all people. The look on the hedgehog's face must have been priceless as that which he sought slipped through his fingers. He was rooted to the spot, unable to hear anything but the rapid beat of his heart. His eyes were set wide in alarm as one of his friends proceeded to play a nauseating (in his opinion) game of tonsil hockey with his...well...he wanted her to be his girl.

His ears pinned back against his head and he slipped back into the crowd, hoping that they hadn't seen him. He could feel tears forming in his crimson eyes, and that would _not_ do at all. _'It can't be what it looks like..._' he thought. His stomach was churning at the moment, and he really wished he hadn't had that second chili dog right now. He tried to rationalize it, analyze what was going on. If it was some sort of revenge, it felt subzero rather than simply "cold." He took another glance in their direction, the pair just having come up for air.

Tracey was blushing a deep crimson, reeling from the very _convincing_ kiss he'd given her. _'If you kiss Lara like that there's no way she'll say no to you...'_ She took a couple breaths, briefly forgetting that this was for petty revenge, not for her own pleasures.

Blitz smirked at her. "So how was it?" He had a broad grin clinging to his face. She wasn't the only one reeling from the magic liplock. _'If that's a fake kiss, I wonder what she was doin' with Ash?'_

"Ohh..." Tracey looked down shyly, still blushing, "good." '_Very good.'_

Blitz smiled. "Cool." He kept his arm around her waist and held her close. He scanned the crowd idly for the other hedgehog. No sense in getting cozier than need be if the object of her hatred was in hiding. He didn't dare voice what he was thinking, though; he could be close enough to blow everything.

Ash managed to get his watering eyes under control, but his pinned down ears were another story. Each time he tried to lift them, they just sank back down pitifully. _'Maybe it'll just show her my sincerity...'_ he hoped half-heartedly. He gathered what was left of his courage and approached the two, attempting not to hang his head in shame.

"Oh hi there…." He attempted an awkward smile at the fox and hedgehog. "...Nice day for a race...huh?" '..._I am pathetic.'_

"Ohhh...Ash...didn't see you..." Tracey started flatly. "I don't recognize you without your lips latched onto Hannah's."

Even Blitz winced at that '_Sheesh, kick him in the nuts while you're at it...'_ He wondered how long she'd hold _that_ over his head. "Hey...that was a tabloid, y'know." Tracey snorted a bit as if he were betraying her.

Ash forced his face into a neutral visage. He hoped he could maintain it like his father seemed to, but he doubted it. "...Funny, Trace'. Didn't know you were hooked up with Mr. Speedster here." He shrugged and tried not to cast his gaze downward, though he shuffled one foot against the dusty concrete nervously.

"Oh yeah..." She smiled slightly. "See, he doesn't have a track record off the track."

'_That was lame...'_ Blitz thought to himself.

"I've been trying to call you...about that…." Ash continued, trying to bring up the point of why he was there.

"Hmm...must've had my phone on silence." She shrugged as if it didn't bother her.

"Guess you never check your e-mail either..." Ash muttered softly.

"Maybe I didn't want to reply," Tracey said with some contempt in her eyes.

"Look…I hate to break this up, but I have a race to win. Why don't you two get some premo seats while I run rings around Chase, k?" He kissed the top of Tracey's head lightly. "Pizza after this?" He smiled softly at her.

"Sure thing, sweetie." Tracey smiled broadly while Blitz picked up the Wild Cloud and headed out.

"I don't know that I want to watch any more..." Ash commented softly.

Tracey rolled her eyes and started walking away from him. "Jealous? I don't see why you should be...you've got enough girls after you. I was just another target."

The crimson-eyed hedgehog wondered how long he'd take this before he finally snapped. Her words were like a knife to him. "Doesn't matter what I think, does it? You seem to have moved on." He shrugged and kept step beside her. He was definitely feeling a cold shoulder from the vixen. "...Woulda been nice if you'd returned at least one message, though..."

Tracey wasn't sure exactly what to think of him at this point as the pair took their places and watched the racers head up to the starting line. She couldn't deny she'd been ignoring him the past month...she hadn't even bothered to take a look at a single one of his e-mails, and as soon as his voice hit her when checking voice messages, it was deleted before he could say so much as a "sorry." She didn't know how he'd react to her and Blitz honestly, but his drooping ears were the only indication of anything; he was keeping his father's monotone voice well.

"I didn't feel like it."

"...I had a feeling." He wondered briefly if this was anything like how Shadow felt when losing Maria. It might have been worse for the teenage hedgehog, since she was lost to him, but in a different way.

"Sorry, I don't like talking to cheaters," Tracey responded in a snotty tone.

"So how'd you and Blitz...?" Ash inquired. Maybe he could gleam some insight as to what she was thinking.

"Well, you know he hangs around our house a lot," Tracey replied casually. "He just finally saw me as a woman."

"He told me not long ago he thought of you as a little sister. That's quite a jump..." Ash sounded a bit mechanical in his reply, but at least his ears were recovering to a slightly more relaxed poise. If she said something really hurtful, he knew they'd be flat against his head in an instant.

"Well..." Tracey took on a coy grin, "brothers and sisters don't kiss like we do."

"No...no they don't." His tone was disapproving, and Tracey smiled inwardly at that. "How far'd he have his tongue down your throat?" Ash snorted. "I thought you two were going to suffocate, kissin' that long."

Tracey blushed a little bit. "I think he went a little farther than you did…at least with me."

Ash sighed. "I'd really like to get past that...I…." He paused a moment, making sure she wouldn't interrupt. Her ears were turned to him attentively. "I'm sorry..."

_'He actually sounds like he means it…._' Tracey felt a little bit guilty about trying to deceive him. She wasn't ready to give him any second chances, though. "Oh, it's so past, it's way past..." she began. "Water under the bridge, right? ...Too bad you didn't think about that sooner."

"...I wrote everything I wanted to tell you in an e-mail," Ash's tone was soft enough she had to strain to hear him over the crowd that was now cheering on the extreme racers. She was watching them rather than him. "I said it a dozen times to your voice mail...I wanted to say something here...but you're right." Her ears perked up at that. "It's too late...I'm sorry." His voice was soft even though he spoke into her ear, his nose lightly touching against the tip; his hot breath tickled. Then his lips touched her cheek for a moment.

"... Ash..." Tracey spun around but was suddenly confused as the ebony marked hedgehog was gone. Most people couldn't have gotten far, but he wasn't most people. The roar of the crowd defeated any chance she had of finding him by sound, signaling the end of the first race. _'Where did you go?'_ She didn't think he'd just...give up.

* * *

Sara knew something went horribly wrong when Ash stormed upstairs without taking a second whiff of the spaghetti she was pulling together in the kitchen. The slam of his door moments later confirmed it. "Oh boy..."

"This...isn't going to end well, is it?" Shadow inquired. He would have gotten up from his chair at the kitchen table but for the black form obscuring his chest fur. Until a moment ago, she'd been asleep.

"Depends on how stupid both parties want to be." Sara blushed a bit. "I remember holding a few grudges..."

"Like oh...over Dance Dance Revolution?" Shadow managed a slight smirk.

"Maybe...so...which one of us gets to bust him out of _this_ funk?" She smiled and gave the noodles a testing stir; they were softening quite nicely.

"You. I have my hands full." He shrugged, further disturbing Ayame. Inevitably, the child began crying, and Shadow winced. "Damnit…."

"Hey hey...you said you'd watch it around the kids," she commented on his language. "And my hands are full too, hon."

"Hmph...she's only a month old." He wrinkled his nose. "Not like she understands that."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, like she doesn't grope my bosom more than you do when she wants a drink?" She paid attention to the dinner and slipped garlic bread into the oven.

Shadow didn't respond to that but tried to calm the babe instead. "Hush," he instructed and bounced her on his knee a bit until she began settling down. "That's right...settle down..."

Sara chuckled a bit. "You're getting good at that...too bad it doesn't work on the big babies."

"Yeah.. but I mean it...could you check on him? I'm no good with feelings…." Shadow replied. Once he settled Ayame down, he cradled her as he had before, the child magnetically drawn to the patch of cotton soft white fur before her.

"Oh fine, but if you don't check the garlic bread when the timer goes off, it is going to burn." He nodded agreeably toward her. She shook her head. "You're not as bad with feelings as you think, though."

Shadow smiled briefly. "..Thanks."

* * *

Shattering sounds were never a good thing, and Sara could clearly hear things being thrown around in her teenage son's room. '_Baka...'_ She waited a moment to see if it would die down...it did. She knocked but got no response. She gave a more forceful knock; still nothing. Her expression became one of concern as she twisted the knob of the door. "Ash...?"

There was quite a mess in his room. Anger wasn't an emotion he typically displayed. Oh sure, he'd had his rebellious phase...actually it had only ended with his initial rejection. He was fidgety and nervous lately, sometimes depressed. This was different; it was frustration more than anger, and he'd taken it out on a number of fragile electronics.

Noteworthy elements in the mess included a busted cell phone, broken computer monitor, smashed iPod (full of love songs), and several broken picture frames. Sara frowned at that. "Ash?" She finally caught sight of him, sulking in a corner. "Ashura...answer me."

"..It's Ash…." he snorted a little. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, which sported a black tuft of fur akin to the white on his father, and had his arms wrapped around his knees. "Ashura sounds like a girl's name."

Sara smirked a little and knelt down in front of him. "Well, now we know what your daughter's name will be." Ash snorted. "...She turned you down again, right?"

"...Yeah...something like that."

"...So the cell phone had to die because...?"

Ash averted his gaze by burying his face in his arms. "I don't want to talk about it..."

"Well, we have to talk about the bill for all this." She shrugged. "So tell me." Sara paused. "You know I'm not going away," she said gently.

Ash growled lightly. "Go away."

"Come on," she prodded. The glint of something gold on the floor caught her eye, but she didn't say anything.

"She was too busy to reply..." Ash's voice was suddenly void of emotion. "She has a new boyfriend now...Blitz."

Well, that was news to Sara. Sonic's son and Tails' daughter...what a pairing that would be. "I see..."

"I know I fucked up..." The frustration seeped into his tone. "I know..." His fists clenched tightly. "Why can't she forgive me?! Can't I get that much?! She won't...talk to me without bringing it up!"

Sara frowned a bit, hoping she imagined the brief emerald flash she thought she'd seen a moment ago. "I'm glad you realize where you went wrong, but...there's consequences for actions. It's like hammering a nail into a board...even if you remove the nail, the hole's still there."

"So how do I fill it?" Ash managed to look up. His eyes were red, not just his pupils... Had he been crying?

"I can't say...and not all holes can be filled... Even if you know how to patch a hole, it takes time to fix it," Sara offered gently. She then glanced at the broken things. "Looks like there's a lot of holes to patch." She stood and turned to leave. "Well, at least get the glass up before you come down for dinner, will you?"

Ash sighed after she left. He wanted to stay mad a while longer but couldn't with her talking to him. Obediently, he started picking up the pieces of his room, an easy feat compared with mending things between him and Tracey. He picked up one of the broken picture frames; it was of him and the twins sitting on the edge of one of Tails' board designs. They, only three or four years old, got along well...why'd it have to become so complicated?

* * *

Blitz's ear ticked annoyedly as he sat across from Tracey at Rosie's Pizza rather than Vinnie's. It was a bit more upper crust from his favorite pizza joint. Treating her on a real date was not his idea, even if he had won a mint in the race. The look on Chase's face was so _not_ worth it at this particular moment.

"Are you going to put that phone down sometime tonight? I mean, at fifteen dollars for a basic cheese pizza, I am so totally insisting you eat it," his tone was rather annoyed.

"Eh? Oh...I'm...just not used to so much...phone silence," Tracey replied absently. She picked at her side salad, which caused Blitz to snort indignantly.

"Well, you wanted to make him jealous, I warned you it would backfire...and you still owe me a board," he added in at her growing frown. He smirked and took a bite of his pizza; it really was very good, but 15 worth of good? Nah.

"Don't remind me." She glanced at the window of the restaurant, expecting the sky blue hedgehog to waltz by. '_Why hasn't he called?'_ Of course, the light peck on her cheek had caught her off guard worse than the impassioned kiss Blitz had planted on her.

"At the risk of being shot, tarred, feathered, and run over by a train..." Blitz started, his emerald eyes warily resting on his dinner date, "...have you tried...you know..._calling_ him?"

"No..." She said flatly, eyeing her cell phone. "Think I should?"

"Please. You're driving me nuts, I can only imagine what your brother's been put through." The purple teen rolled his eyes. He took another bite of the pizza. "Chili sauce…that would make this a hundred times better."

Tracey sighed. It was the one option she'd put off for weeks, but the only one that made sense. The fact he'd suddenly stopped calling should've been a relief to her, but it wasn't. She pulled up his number, which was easily accessible from recent calls. It went straight to voice mail. _'Maybe it just needs a recharge...High One knows how many times he's called me,' _she tried convincing herself.

"...Hello? Ash? It's me...Tracey. I…umm...just wondering where my nightly slew of calls are," she tried to sound at least a little bit venomous. "If you wanna talk, I guess we could... Bye."

Blitz relaxed notably after she hung up. "Awesome."

"What?" she snapped back at him.

"Nothin'," Blitz laughed. "Just eat your pizza."


	18. Unraveling Plans

"..Mind telling me why another Violet Wind wasn't a suitable replacement?" Tails asked as Tracey helped with the construction of a new Speed Surge SX. The High Wind style was one of Tails' favorite constructions, and modifying it with a Speed Blitz ventilation system and braking system put it on par with the true Blitz type boards the young hedgehog preferred. They were also rather cheap to construct, a serious consideration when it came to the life expectancy of one of Blitz's boards. The model he was constructing now was both complicated and pricey to build and maintain, and he seriously doubted Blitz was up for that.

Her cheeks flushed a little bit. "Oh...I thought he could use a gift, y'know?" She pulled down a visor as she grabbed a nearby arc welder. She then proceeded to fuse together a couple joints on the frame.

"Some gift," Tails replied with a dubious tone, his eyes also obscured by a protective mask. "What'd he do to earn this beaut'?"

Tracey folded her ears back guiltily. "Just consider it a gift, okay?"

"She's pretending to date him to make Ash jealous," Kit replied from the shop door. His shades were protective enough from the light of the welder, and he was far enough away as to not get hurt.

Tails gave a disapproving frown, though it probably didn't translate across the mask. "Not sure I should finish this now…."

"Daddy!" Tracey's tone was mortified and she glared at her brother through the mask.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing," Kit commented on the arc welder she momentarily jerked to one side. He shook his head and went over to the wall of Tails' shop. He pulled down the Wild Ace, his personal board, and set it on a couple of saw horses, giving it a cursory exam at first. "It's just the truth." '_Aha! I was right...slight buckle in the left rear fin. That explains the shift.'_

"Trace'? Shut off the welder," Tails instructed, and she obeyed dutifully. He lifted his visor, as she did hers. "You already made a promise, so we'll keep working on this...but was it worth it?"

"He's stopped calling, hasn't he?" Trace retorted, talking about Ash's sudden state of incommunicado. It had been a couple days. She insisted Blitz hang out with her as much as possible, at least until the board was complete, but neither of them had seen hide nor quill of the sky blue and jet black hedgehog. It was honestly bothering her a bit, but she couldn't admit that now.

He examined the frame of the Gear; it was pretty solid but still needed a couple of supports before further construction could proceed. "Don't think I approve of Ash messin' around, but just because he did something wrong, it doesn't mean you have to do something bad too."

"Told ya. She's just being stuck up." Kit grinned and grabbed a screwdriver she flung at him. "Thank you!" Tracey made a face at her brother, at which he smiled. "We're twins, I know you, woman!" He grinned broadly.

"Hey, come on!" Tails said, rubbing his forehead. "I love you both, but don't drive me nuts, will ya?"

* * *

A call came in over the phone and was greeted with its usual gusto. "Vinnie's Pizza! We heat 'em, you eat 'em!" Not the typical clerk today, though, a female voice enthusiastically answered the phone. Angie was helping out her father today and took an order while their new delivery boy came back from a run. She waved at him with a pencil between two fingers.

"Welcome back, small fry," Tony's voice carried from the kitchen as he approached the bi-color hedgehog with a new stack of pizzas. "These go to 4th and Reed." The hedgehog nodded listlessly as he accepted the pizzas, though Tony's grip held them back.

"...What gives?" he inquired, ruby eyes fixed on the taller human.

"Ehh...you just got no spunk today. Somethin' troublin' ya?" Tony inquired of the youth.

"...Nothing," he breathed.

"Somethin's eatin' ya."

"I have pizzas to deliver...let me go," he grumbled.

"Is it a girl?" Tony's tone raised in interest. "Hey hey! Watch the Pizzas!" He darted back out of a carelessly thrown fist and pulled the pizzas with him. He laughed a bit, "I guess that answers that."

Ash growled darkly, "Just let me get this delivery out of the way…."

"Yeah well. Either we talk about it now, or you ain't going anywhere." Tony shrugged.

"So you don't mind cold pizzas getting to the customer?" the Mobian returned sourly. "This really isn't professional, you know..."

"Eh, you're faster than that." He shrugged. "Maybe not Sonic fast, but ya a match for ya old man I'm sure."

Ash quirked a brow. "What's it to you?"

"Consider it a favor to your ol' man." The human shrugged in reply.

"I think I'd listen to him. Pop's on a mission of love after all!" She laughed a bit.

Ash pursed his brows together grudgingly. He'd never asked about the photo of his family stuck to the front counter as you walk in, and he wasn't about to start. It did give him the idea (along with years of ordering regularly from the chatty restaurateur) that he must somehow be a friend of his father, though Shadow never left his monotone dronings if he came up in conversation. "Feh…."

"Congrats, you sound like your dad." Tony took a seat in the waiting area and put the stack of cooling pizzas next to him. "So what's eatin' ya?"

Ash looked down at his black and red shoes idly. "I messed up and now my...well...she's with another guy..."

"Ahh..." Tony nodded wisely, "so ya screwed up with a goil, and now she's foolin' around with some guy, even a close friend of yours?"

Ash was a bit startled at his powers of perception and lurched a step backward. "Uhh..."

Tony just grinned. "I been around the block a spell. You know, she may just be trying to make you jealous. Have ya tried patching things since they got together?"

"Well...no," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I called her every day before that and she wouldn't even return a single phone call."

"It's worth another shot, isn't it?" Tony queried, handing him the pizzas. "Now get out of here, ya got a pileup of pizzas headed your way."

"Hmph... Were you like this with my pops?" Ash asked as he headed for the door.

"Yup. Some people just need a little push." Tony smiled.

"He's pushy...OH is he pushy!" Angie added with her own smirk.

* * *

Blitz's ear twitched lightly as he escorted Tracey through the park that evening. "Tell me we're done _pretending_ soon?" he complained. It wasn't that he didn't like the fox's company in most situations, but her course of conversation lately left much to be desired. He'd rather be buzzing with her on Extreme Gears...new fin designs for the boards, or a modification to the frame to give it more lift. Something other than how hurt she was over Ash and now that he'd stopped calling, why wasn't he there for her to gloat over? What good was a pretend boyfriend if the real one you wanted wasn't there to be humiliated?

"Yes..." Tracey replied. She knew that when Ash was feeling troubled he enjoyed watching the sunset from a certain point in the park. That's exactly where she was leading Blitz.

"Good...you're distracting," the purple hedgehog snorted, hardly daring a glance at the peppy orange vixen hanging on his arm.

She quirked a brow. "Distracting? That's an odd response... I can understand annoyed…."

"Yeah well..." Blitz slowly rested his emerald eyes on her, his gaze unintentionally leading to her chest. "I'm having a _very_ hard time thinking of you as a little sister right now...and you do realize you're in heat, right?"

The twin-tailed vixen blushed furiously. Unlike human cycles, bleeding rarely accompanied it, so the closest Mobians had was the "heat" cycle, which varied from species to species. Some were as regular as normal humans, others, not so much. As well, a female in heat usually found herself more romantic or inclined toward contact with others. She was feeling highly anti-social, however, so she'd missed that aspect, while Blitz was definitely picking up on her pheromones.

"Err…no...I didn't." She felt a bit of disease as Blitz drew her a little closer. He was being a little _too good_ at pretending. "Is it bad?" Being the one in heat, she didn't know the exact strength of her scent. It was also one of the few times she'd failed to put on some perfume to dull its aroma.

"Nah, I like the smell of white plums." Blitz smirked, attempting to put her at ease as they walked. '_If she was interested, she wouldn't be a bad catch,'_ he thought. '_Course...I'm good at generating interest._'

"That doesn't help." She leaned against him a bit, making the excuse it was just for the chill in the late evening's air. Her eyes caught traces of blue and black up in a nearby tree. She whispered to him "He's here...get ready to act again."

Blitz nipped one of her ears lightly and grinned. "Careful what you wish for." He nuzzled her head lightly, causing a shiver through her body.

There was a light thump on the grass as Ash hopped down from the tree he was resting on. His expression lacked any kind of emotion. "Out for a walk with your new boyfriend?" Ash inquired idly.

"Sure am." She smiled sweetly. "He's been taking me out for walks lately..."

The younger of the two hedgehogs frowned a little but recovered quickly to a neutral visage. "Like the ones we used to take?"

"Yeah." She nodded in reply.

"Good for you... Guess I should get going so I don't disturb you two." Her scent hadn't escaped him, though there was little he could do about it. At the moment, about the best sign he had was that she hadn't mentioned his "practice" kissing with other girls.

"Did you get my message?" Trace asked. She was kind of wondering why he hadn't responded.

The bi-color hedgehog blinked in complete and utter confusion. "You mean...you called me?"

"Y...yeah. I called your cell phone... Heh...was wondering where the nightly string of calls was." She rolled her eyes. "Fifteen seconds and nothing, that's a record for you, isn't it?" Tracey replied, regaining her sass.

Ash's eyes shone darkly. "If you're just going to remind me about what a fuck-up I am, I've got better things to do."

"No..." Tracey stroked her fingers through her bangs, pulling them to one side. "So why didn't you get my call?"

"Phone broke." Ash shrugged.

"Oh..." There was a bit of an awkward silence between the trio. "Umm...I've been on MSN lately."

"Don't have computer access." The youth shrugged.

"Computer broken too?" Blitz finally spoke up.

"Yeah."

Tracey's eyes widened a bit. _'Both at once? That's weird...'_ "Heh...not your day, huh?"

"Not my month really," the hedgehog replied dryly. "I spend a month trying to tell you I'm sorry...tell you I love you and want a second chance...all I get is silence." He tilted his head toward the purple hedgehog. "You got him, and enough contempt for me, so why not seal the deal? Blitz is some world renowned racer, he's ambitious…older and better off than me. I'm just a loser with no direction, still living at home, young and naive...so why would you want that? Heh..."

Blitz dared a glance at Tracey, which showed how startled she was to hear these things come out of him. Sonic's son wasn't quite so surprised. A certain young crocodile had been in the same kind of situation with his girlfriend not long ago. Heh, almost 17 and already getting reruns. He looked back at the teen.

"Feh. Don't sell yourself short. I mean, you must be doin' somethin' right. Four girls at once is a lil' ambitious, but you find the right one, boom."

Ash managed a very brief and very faint grin. Just looking at the vixen was hurting him, and he didn't think he could stay much longer without breaking down. "So...I guess that's it then. I said what I wanted...I won't bother you anymore.."

There was something very final about the way he said that, which made the girl's heart sink. "Ash..."

"What?" his voice came darkly. He wasn't entirely focused on her now as he saw Blitz nuzzle the back of her left ear. His spines bristled instinctively as the purple hedgehog enjoyed her scent. He still wanted to be the one in that pose, and if he saw even the hint of a tongue slip out, he was likely to knock his block off.

She felt a bit uncomfortable at Blitz's sudden advance. It probably had more to do with her scent than his feelings, but that also made it more uncomfortable than she'd like. Pushing him away would destroy the illusion of the two of them, but the way Ash was talking... "I dunno...just seems kind of lame to call every five minutes of every day and then just give up."

"Yeah," his tone was rather cold. "You've made it pretty clear you don't want me, though." He growled a bit at Blitz's continued affections toward her.

He didn't know he was doing it himself, really. He was just responding to her state, holding her a little close, nuzzling to calm. Even though he'd been aware of her physical state, it was just now starting to intoxicate him. He hardly paid attention to the glowering look in Ash's eyes or the discomfort of the vixen in his arms. He breathed in her fragrance deeply, and held her closer, his eyes closed as he focused on the feel of her body. Warm, soft, shapely... He was appreciating the fact he was wearing fingerless gloves today as he started to slip his hand down the front of her jean shorts. His tongue very lightly touched the back of her ear...before a fist brought him sharply back into reality.

"What the-?!" Blitz flew back a few feet from a more than startled fox.

Tracey's heart rate had skyrocketed from the very off-plan lick the older hedgehog had planted on the back of her ear combined with his actions below the belt. That was highly unexpected to say the least. The fierce growl Ash let out as he lunged at Blitz was also unanticipated.

"Get the hell off of her!" Ash demanded with a feral growl.

Blitz rolled to the side and into a spin as Ash barreled down on him. He revved up and spun out at the younger hedgehog, keenly aware now that his body had been talking louder than his thoughts a moment ago. _'Shit…I was worried something like this would happen.'_

"A-Ash! Don't...!" Tracey said, finally finding her voice.

The younger hedgehog gracefully leapt over his adversary, though instead of going into another spin, a crackle of green energy built up in the air. "**Chaos Spear!**" The energy shots fired at the speeding purple streak. When he landed, his ruby eyes glinted dangerously. "I'm not lame," he snorted, "and I'm not giving up."

"Ash...y...you don't have to fight!" Her tails swayed side to side nervously. She'd thought about the two fighting eventually, but she hadn't seriously expected it.

"Y'know..." Ash said absently while Blitz got into a defensive stance, "...there is." He paused thoughtfully. "I may have kissed other girls, but you're the only one I ever advanced on." He grinned a bit wickedly. "I can't let him put his scent on you now, can I?"

Tracey's cheeks flushed at that, though she shivered at the look in his eyes. '_Creepy...I think I may have gone too far with this...'_

"Whoa! Hold the phone, you can have her, dude!" Blitz started, narrowly avoiding another round of Chaos Spears. _'He must have an emerald on him...two can play at that game, though.'_

"Why the _hell_ should I listen to you?!" Ash snarled in contempt, curling into a homing attack.

"Because _we're __**not**__ dating!_ Okay?!" Blitz mirrored the blue and black spinning ball of spikes. _'Shit, he's serious...'_

"I don't believe you! _**That**_was not _dating!_" Ash snorted after breaking away from the first collision in mid-air, the pair flying at each other repeatedly about ten times before breaking apart.

"Ash! Listen to him!" Tracey pleaded. "He's right! It was my idea, okay? I just wanted you to know how I felt...!"

Both combatants hit the grassy ground, standing about ten feet from each other, eyes narrowed. Blitz wasn't breathing hard, but he wasn't expecting this kind of workout, his heart beating swiftly. Ash was still about four inches shorter than him, but the hits he had landed felt like getting hit by a truck. He did literally know what that was like... And then his eyes. While the glittering green eyes on Blitz narrowed to gauge his foe, Ash's were wild, angry, and currently irrational. If he ran, he was sure Ash would follow, and his only hope for knocking sense into him, without knocking him out, was if Tracey could reach him. _'Shit, I'm screwed."_

"You're more pathetic than I am..." Ash growled in reply to the vixen, "I wasn't kissin' girls to make you jealous, you know...I just thought you wanted someone older and more experienced... I can't help the fact I'm younger, though..." He didn't look in her direction but stayed focused on Blitz. "Either way, _you_ went along with it...I thought we were friends!" His frustrations came out as he gathered energy for another Chaos Control.

"Okay! You're_ right_!" Tracey cried, "I am pathetic, okay!? I'm not _that_ much older than you...you.. you...idiot!" She ran toward him, ignoring the emerald glow, it was stronger than the one swirling around the purple hedgehog. She grabbed his arm, horrified of what he might do, tears forming in her eyes. "Stop it! Please! I'm sorry!"

The black and blue hedgehog turned to the female fox in shock. '_She...apologized?'_ His shock did, however, have the undesirable effect of shaking his concentration on what he was doing. Chiefly that meant that all the Chaos he'd stored up was suddenly out of his control... _'Tracey...'_


	19. Chaos Control

AN: Well dear readers... I get to show off my obsession with Japan a little bit more in this chapter. For those of you who've read the works of Fortune, specifically "Thorn Latch", much homage is paid to her and her story in this chapter. There are many small (and some large) hints and allusions to Thorn Latch as well as a guest appearance by a deranged opossum.

Jack and Joe the possum are © me, while Joe's mom is © Fortune.

As per usual disclaimer, Sonic, Shadow and related SEGA characters are ©Sega/Sonic Team

* * *

Blitz raised his hands and threw out a Chaos Control of his own, trying to draw from the emerald Ash carried. The shining gem reacted in a brilliant blaze as both parties were engulfed in the blinding light. When it faded away, a crater was made where Ash and Tracey had been standing. As for the purple hedgehog, his ear twitched lightly as the sounds of voices caught his attention. They weren't speaking English, either...

"Daijoubu ka?" a male voice called.

"Daijoubu?" another voice inquired.

_'Daijoubu?'_ Blitz cracked his eyes open slightly, his field of vision blurred. "Nnn...what hit me?" He rolled onto his back and looked up at the faces of two elderly gentlemen with slanted, squinty eyes. Behind him, he could see the sun coming up rather than setting as it had been moments ago. "Shit...don't tell me I'm in Japan."

"Ano...daijoubu ka?" the first asked again in concern for the dazed Mobian.

"Un. Daijoubu," Blitz replied. He'd been in Japan a couple times for tournaments, and his "Auntie Sara" wasn't bad with the language. Just, recalling all that now without a guide book was going to be a pain.

"Ii. Hajimemashite!" The first old man smiled, a few teeth missing. "Watashi wa Yamada Hisao desu," the man named Hisao introduced himself.

"Ahh…." Blitz nodded. "Hai...umm..."

The other man, old man, whose hair had already gone gray, offered the hedgehog a hand up. He said something to Hisao that escaped his limited Japanese dictionary before introducing himself. "Watashi wa Yoshi Seiichi. Onamae wa?"

"Nnn..." Blitz was still a bit groggy. He hadn't quite gotten to his feet , but he spied an emerald glinting at the side of the road. _'Looks like it followed me.'_ "Ano…."

Seiichi frowned a bit. "Daijoubu?"

"Hai hai..." Blitz nodded again. He'd have to get the emerald before someone else picked it up. "Ahh…." He smiled as he got to his feet, striking a pose and wearing a cocky smirk. "Ore wa Blitz the hedgehog! Extreme Gear World Champ!"

The two men gave him a slightly confused look at the last part. "Genki kodomo…." One of them shrugged with a smile.

"Ano...I know I'm in Japan but...Boku wa doko desu ka?" the hedgehog asked, inquiring where he was.

"Toukyou desu," Hisao replied.

He nodded reply. "Ano...sumimasen, demo...chiizu wa kudasai?"

"Eh? Oh...you can get map over there at ca-ri outto…" Seiichi replied.

Blitz slapped his forehead. "The hell!? You can speak English?"

Seiichi had an even more toothless grin than his friend and shrugged. "We rike pranking gaijin like you."

"Gah...well…thanks...um...arigatou." The hedgehog ruffled his quills. "Well, sayonara, ojiisans!"

"Bai-bai, Blitzu-kun!" The pair of old men smiled and bowed slightly before heading to their destination…probably some pigeon pooped-on park bench, no doubt.

Blitz waved them off, then glanced at the ditch where the emerald had landed. It was gone. _Kuso..._ He looked around frantically until he caught the sight of a small girl panda in a school uniform, holding it and skipping toward her mother.

"Okasan!" She smiled brightly and held up the emerald.

"...Great...just sugoi, in't it?" Blitz sighed and headed over to the Pandas. "Ohayou gozaimasu." He smiled his best. "Ano...ehhto...emeraldo...ka?" He pointed to it and then himself, at a loss for how to say "that belongs to me."

The mother looked at the gem and then the hedgehog. She wasn't sure what to make of him, or his slightly effeminate accent. _Must be foreign..._ She got the point that he was interested in the emerald but wasn't sure if it really belonged to him. It didn't belong to her daughter, though. "Ohayou...hajimemashite."

"Yeah hajimemory's not so good right now, I hope you speak English too…." He groaned a bit, not receiving a reply from the confused bear. Not long ago it was too late for this, now it was too early for this kind of thinking. "Ore wa Blitzu desu...emeraldo wa kudasai?" He held out his hand for the gem.

"Hejihoggu no emeraldo?" She tilted her head to the side, looking at the Mobian oddly.

"Hai." He nodded. "Emeraldo ka?" He kept his palm open to her.

"Okasaaaaan...!" the girl protested, tugging at her mother's sleeve for the emerald. The lady panda smiled and laughed a bit. She didn't seem to know a lick of English but handed the gem over at least. "Bai bai!"

"Ciao!" Blitz smiled. It was striking him as funny that people said "bai bai" more than the traditional "sayonara." He breathed a sigh of relief before tucking the gem into his quills and pulling out his cell phone. He then dialed home. "Moshi moshi! Hey, Pops!" He paused; he was getting a lot of static. "Umm…can ya hear me now?" He zipped down the street and replied this several times. He checked around for a nice tall building to scurry up and grinned as he saw something he thought might do. '_Damn, if this isn't roaming, I don't know what is!'_

_"Hey! Blitz! I can hardly hear ya, kid!" _Sonic's voice finally came through without static.

"Heh. Yeah...hey, Pops? I got a couple of things to ask you…."

"...Yeah?" Sonic quirked a brow, a feat unseen through the cell phone.

"How do you feel about some real authentic ramen for dinner?" The hedgehog couldn't help smirking at that.

"Eh? Well sure...Ramen House from the mall, right?"

"Nope. Ramen from Kiko's Garden," the boy said with a hint of pride.

"Never heard of it...just where the heck are you?"

"Tokyo Tower, watchin' the sun rise from the Land of the Risin' Sun." He dangled his feet carelessly over the edge of said building with a smile on his lips.

"_**What!? How the heck did you get there?!**_" Surprise was just sinking in. Even for him, getting there within a couple hours was more than a stretch….

"Chaos Control," he replied casually. "That brings me to the second question...I need you to check the park for me. I got into a scrape with Ash, and Tracey was there...so could ya check on them? And let Shadow know uh...I have no idea where they might be if they're not there."

Sonic scrunched up his face thinking about talking to Mr. Emo. Telling him his son was missing would not be fun. "Damn. Just full of surprises, aren'cha? Well, how do you expect to get here with that ramen so fast?"

"Eh, the emerald seems to have sided with me...I think I summoned it," Blitz replied. "Anyhow, my battery's dyin' and I'm roamin' like it's no one else's business. Be home soon, tell Ma I love her!" He clicked end and then glanced at the city before him. It was really a breathtaking view. _'I bet Lara would like this view...'_

* * *

An orange possum was hanging upside down from a tree by his tail. He was playing Cooking Mama on his SD when a flash of emerald light appeared in the failing twilight above the fields surrounding his home. The boy took interest and closed up the handheld system. Putting it in his overall's top pocket was not a very good idea as it slid out and landed on the ground below. The five year old possum slunk down the tree and collected his system. It was still on and working fine. He grinned toothily, a gap in his two front teeth from the fact they'd recently fallen out. Ahh good ol' Odnetnin; they never seemed to die.

The boy scurried to the site of the crash, finding a hedgehog and fox crashed into a few stalks of corn. "Aww...Mama's gonna hate this." He scooted in closer, carrying a stick he plucked from the tree before coming closer, best to be armed, y'know? "Hey. Y'all alive?" he asked, expecting a response. The two were motionless, aside subtle breathing. "Heh..I get it, y'all's playin' dead." He took the stick and poked the hedgehog on the top of his head. It groaned. "Whoa!" He jumped back.

He then ran to the farm house, if you could call it that, yelling all the way. "Mama! Papa! Come quick! We gots' live ones in the field an' they dun ruined Mama's corn!" He poked his head into the den-type home, a hollowed out hillside under a shady tree.

A less than amused orange hedgehog glanced over at him and groaned. "You better not be making anything up...otherwise your mom's gonna have a real heart attack some day." He shook his head and nudged the boy back out the door. "Go on, show me what it is this time."

Upon reaching the knocked out pair, the orange hedgehog was somewhat shocked. His boy had been right; they had "live ones" in the field, and they had apparently caused damage to a few stalks of corn. He mused that his possum mate would threaten to kill for less. He did frown, though, as he checked the two forms out. _'A two tailed fox...and...a hedgehog...that's an odd combo….'_

"See, Papa? I tol' ya." The young possum beamed.

"Yes yes..." He gently shook the hedgehog and fox lightly until they began to stir. "Hey...you guys all right?"

"Nnn..." Ash groaned. The first thing his eyes saw was the grin of a smug little possum missing his two front teeth.

"Howdy!" the possum boy beamed.

"...Trace?" He rolled his head to the side; it hurt. She was with him, though, still just coming out of it. "You okay, Trace?"

"Nnn...I think so..." she replied softly and managed to get herself into a sitting position. This definitely wasn't the park. She looked up at the sky and her eyes were dazzled by the gleaming of hundreds of thousands of stars. They glittered brightly in the sky, even though the light of day hadn't completely faded. "Oh my..."

The orange hedgehog smiled a bit and offered them both a helping hand, gratefully received. "I won't ask how you got here for now, but it's a little late to be traveling. Come join us for supper? You can leave in the morning," he offered amiably, motioning toward his house.

"Uhh...thanks...I...where are we?" Ash inquired.

"Mobius. A bit out in the sticks, but the World Gate's about ninety miles from here, give or take." He shrugged as he walked at a brisk place. "I'm kind of guessing you're not from around here."

"...How'd you know?" Tracey asked.

"Heh. Haven't seen any two-tailed foxes around and well..." he glanced at Ash, "your markings are kind of odd...never seen them on another hedgehog."

"Oh...I get it from my dad." Ash shrugged.

_'I was afraid of that.'_ "My girl Maple's a little bit...eccentric, so let me do most of the talking, will you?"

The pair nodded as they entered the homestead. They were pleasantly surprised to find it a nice dry sandy hole with soft warm lighting rather than a dank, musty cave. It was kind of funny seeing all Mobian-sized furnishings in the house, moreso for Ash than Tracey. It was a very homey atmosphere and the two, in spite of strange circumstances, felt oddly relaxed.

"Maple! We have company for dinner." He waited for the expected berating he was sure to get from the possum.

"Company!? Ohh, y'all didn't give me any warning, Jack! Shame on you!" The possum, who was standing over a pot in the kitchen slicing turnips into the stew reprimanded her mate. Other-species pairings were not entirely uncommon in Mobian society; the child taking the form of the mother, but this pair seemed odd. The hedgehog just didn't seem like a country boy, though Maple's highly sensual figure didn't seem to belong in the country either.

"Sorry, they just crashed into the field," Jack apologized.

"The field? Oh they did _not_ destroy my prize pumpkins or so help me--" She held up the knife in her hand menacingly.

Jack just laughed it off, "No no...just a few ears of corn, they didn't mean anything, though." He took hold of her from behind, taking her wrist in one hand and nipped her ear lightly. This seemed to calm her down notably.

Ash turned his head to Tracey. "Hey, umm...you don't happen to have a cell phone on you, do ya?"

Tracey shook her head. "No...I left it at home charging."

The jet and blue hedgehog sighed, "I'd kind of like to get out of here fast for some reason…."

She nodded in agreement as they stayed back from the quarreling couple. "I agree. But I guess dinner won't hurt…."

* * *

While Sara was busy with dinner, Shadow was busy with Ayame. He was overseeing playtime and training. He considered it training as much as play, as he was determined to have more personal contact with this child even than the last two. She was very likely to be the last chance he'd have at getting this parenting thing right, and he was also worried she'd take after him in more than looks. That said, she'd have to learn control, and that started with her mastery of grabbing a plastic set of keys he dangled over her.

Ayame smiled and giggled as Shadow moved the keys just out of her reach and jingled them in the air. She reached for them with her stubby little arms. He'd let her grab them once in a while so she wouldn't get frustrated, then moved them out of her reach once again. He'd been doing this for about an hour with various objects. He'd call out the name of whatever object he substituted, and talked about its color or shape, hoping Ayame would pick up on it.

She was making good progress, though she didn't seem exceptionally fast. "Good girl," he said softly, letting her chew on the white plastic ring that held the keys together. _'I still hate baby drool.'_ His lower lip threatened to frown at the thought of cleaning up after her.

His ears folded back to the phone as it rang. He knew better than to ask Sara to get it; she was focused on the spinach quiche. That was a new one for her. He picked up a small white towel and slung it over his shoulder before picking up the drooling baby and doing likewise with her. He picked up the phone left handed and answered. "...Hello?"

"_Ahh! Shadow! Just the guy I wanted to talk to, ol' buddy ol' pal!"_ Sonic's voice said in a bubbly tone.

Shadow scowled immediately. "Okay, what happened?"

"_Happened? Heh...who said anything..."_

Shadow sighed. "You don't talk to me like that unless something's wrong, so spill it."

"_Umm…is Ash home by any chance?"_ Sonic questioned.

"No. He's out. What's it to you?" His frown deepened. Ayame lost her set of keys and began crying. He juggled her in one arm, trying to pacify her. He wasn't going to lean over, so he grabbed another plaything and gave it to her, though she threw that on the floor. "…Ayame...stop it..."

_"Oh uh...he and Trace' disappeared at the park is all._" Sonic was standing at the edge of the crater, a chunk of earth seeming to have disappeared with them. He really hoped they were just teleported elsewhere like Blitz was...

"...Say that again?" Shadow put the phone on speaker so he could hold the girl properly and took a seat on the floor. He wiped the spit from her mouth with the towel and lightly tickled her belly. "I better have heard that wrong. What do you mean he disappeared?"

_"Eheh...I'm standing at an emerald-made crater in the park, I think that should explain things,_" the Blue Blur elaborated.

His disapproving frown failed to right itself. The only way he could've gotten an emerald is borrowing the one kept in the den... He didn't want to go in there and find it missing. "So...where are they now?"

_"Dunno. Blitz gave me a call from Japan, though, so it's likely they got warped."_

At least that was a relief; Ash hadn't blown himself up. Still, with his limiter on, he shouldn't have been able to do something like that with a single emerald. A time warp? Fine. Chaos energy weapons? Also fine. Short range teleportation, not a problem. Long term teleportation with three individuals? Problem. "I see…."

"_He also told me Ash's phone got smashed somehow so...I can't get a hold of him. I tried Tracey's number, but got Fio instead. She was pissed. Heh. Tails is developing a search plan, though, ya might want to get back with him,"_ Sonic finished.

Shadow sighed. "Thanks for the heads up."

_"No prob! Catch ya later!_" Sonic's voice hadn't lost an ounce of its gusto. Following that line, the phone made a tone until Shadow hung up on his end.

"Hey, Shadow? Dinner's ready," Sara said gently from the doorway to the kitchen. She'd heard at least some of the conversation, he could tell. "...You think Ash is okay?"

He shrugged. "Boy's tough...maybe tougher than I thought, though."

Sara frowned a bit. "Well...he hasn't been wearing his limiter lately...I just thought you should know that."

"Heh...he really is stupid then. Strong but stupid." Shadow shook his head. "I'll go look for him if he isn't back by morning, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sara smiled a little.

"Yeah." He watched Ayame start to contort her face and make a series of odd noises. "...Ayame?" The squirming child continued this act for a moment before relaxing and giggling madly. Shadow frowned. "I have one more plan, hon."

"Yes?" She blinked at him.

"...You get to change her diaper this time." He snorted as the offending odor reached his nose. _'I can't believe she gets a kick out of this….'_

Sara laughed. "Got it."


	20. Feelings

"Dinner's ready, hope y'all like turnip stew 'cause that's what you're getting." Maple gave a very dazzling smile, but perhaps a little too wide. "An' we have corn an' biscuits to go with it. With gravy, of course."

"Ooh! my favorite!" the orange possum beamed, taking his seat at the table, propped up on some gardening magazines. His skinny naked tail slipped through a hole in the back of the high-back wooden chair (a feature common on Mobian furnishings).

"Well, I've never had it, but it does smell good," Ash put in, attempting to smile. He was still a bit nervous about their whereabouts.

"It does." Tracey nodded fervently.

"You guys don't have to pretend if you don't like it, but like Maple said, that's all we have for dinner. And nobody gets dessert without eating first." The orange hedgehog Jack laughed a bit. "Don't squirm, Joe, you'll fall out of your seat," he called firmly to the young possum.

"Thanks for the food though...really," Ash replied as the soup was ladled into a bowl set before him by a humming possum. He caught sight of her ample bosom, barely hidden beneath a partly unbuttoned plaid blouse. _'Shit, that's a lucky hedgehog...'_ He reached for a biscuit on his plate idly, only to have the back of his hand slammed harshly with a spoon. "Ouch... What was that for?" the teen asked in confusion, figuring the likeliest reply was his ogling her cleavage.

"We say _grace_ here first, little boy," Maple said in a huff.

"...Grace?" The blue and black hedgehog arched a brow. He looked over at Tracey, who clasped her hands together, looking pious. "Oh...isn't that an Earth custom?"

"Whether you call him the High One or not, it's good to give praise to the Lord," Jack replied. "I spent a bit of time on Earth, so I know the creator as Jesus more specifically." He smiled a bit, "Ol' man I knew there dragged me to church because he said he was afraid for my soul...heh...some humans don't even think we have souls... So...shall we?"

_'Amazing….'_ "Yeah...sure..." Ash put his hands together too, and Maple smiled approvingly. She had to nudge her own son a little to do likewise.

"Blessed High One in heaven, thank you for this here food we are about to receive, and thank you for our two special guests who've dropped in this evenin'! Please bless our family and these folks and this meal, for it's in the Lord Jesus Christ's name that we pray. Amen."

The meal was eaten in relative silence after the prayer. Jack and Maple mostly talked about the farm, weather, and what they were going to do about the coming harvest. Joe mostly sat there with a stupid expression on his face, eyeing his closed up SD sitting on the table…that and the pie Maple made.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a working phone right now," Jack finally said after a while, addressing their guests.

"Eh?" Ash replied numbly. He'd been watching the child attempt to make a happy face on his biscuits using the corn.

"Just in case there was someone you needed to call..." Jack continued, "the store in town's a few miles away, and it's the only one in town that isn't cellular that actually dials through the World Gate. Opens around seven."

"Oh thanks..." Ash nibbled at his food a bit, staring a bit at the orange hedgehog.

"Umm...is there something interesting about my honeybuns?" Maple asked.

"Oh it's just that...he looks like my uncle," Ash replied.

Tracey took a good look at the hedgehog. He smiled a bit, his front quills tilted to one side. She knew who he was talking about, but didn't know him that well. From what she did know of him, he seemed very similar. "I think you're right. Chase's father, right?"

"You don't happen to have a brother, do you? Aside the way your quills are skewed, you could be twins," Ash added.

Jack laughed a bit. "Well...if that's the case, I may have to have a talk with my mom next time I see her." He gave a good-natured smile at their confusion. "Mother used to tell me he was 'with dad,' which I took to mean 'he's dead.'"

"His name's Duo. Ring any bells?" the blue and black hedgehog asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll call Mom after you guys leave." He scooped the last bits of soup into his mouth, enjoying the taste of Maple's cooking. "Which brings me to the next item of conversation...you two are spending the night." He held up a hand before they could protest. "I'm not sending anyone out after dark, so just accept the hospitality, okay?"

"Thanks...you don't have to, though, I mean, we're both pretty fast," Tracey put in, blushing a bit. She was rather modest about her skills. "Pretty fast" was an understatement, as she could keep up with her father at his top speed without breaking a sweat. She was faster than her brother, who made up for the speed loss by endurance far exceeding Tails'.

"Come on, without a car or anything…." Jack trailed off.

Ash was smiling broadly. "We could be home in a couple hours really. But..." he stretched, "I am a little tired after that workout, and the stew's kinda fillin'."

Tracey shook her head. "Making excuses..."

"Hey! It's not often we're on Mobius." He smiled wistfully.

"Well, it's a good thing you two seem to get on well," Jack smiled at the couple, "as we only have one guest room." There was a lingering silence suddenly cast on the dinner table and all those around it as Ash and Tracey shot each other slightly guilty looks.

* * *

As Sara had anticipated, the years had not done much to his ever-present insomnia. She knew it was because he always had a lot on his mind, probably more than usual where their troubled teen son was concerned. There was a chilling possibility that Ash and Tracey had been vaporized by the emerald, though with Blitz still kicking on the main streets of Japan, _'Lucky bastard...'_ that meant it was likely they were teleported elsewhere. But how far and what dimension was still a question, and not so easily answered.

Sometimes she could lull him to sleep by getting him to talk about what was on his mind (a very rare feat). Other times, she could get him to sleep by stroking his fur gently and nestling up to him. The other option usually involved a lot of physical activity she was not up for at present, and the pensive look on his face said neither was he. Even if she could pursue him along those lines, a crying baby would likely interrupt. Shadow had a very distinct way of saying "Damnit" when disturbed, and she grinned, just because she could anticipate pretty well when he'd say it.

She sighed a bit as she lay there in a semi-fetal pose with her back to him. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and though she enjoyed the closeness, his warm breath on her neck, his fluffy chest fur against her, she just wanted him to get a good night's sleep for once.

"...Shadow?" she called softly, nestling against him.

"Hnn?" his unintelligible reply. He licked her ear responsively, drawing a chuckle from her.

"...You know...you don't have to stay up…." Sara's tone was still gentle. She gave him mild warning that she was turning around so her quills didn't scrape him. Her deep brown eyes eventually rested on his crimson spheres while she draped an arm over his chest and lay half on him. She hooked his leg with her foot and smiled down at him.

She could tell he was genuinely sleepy; his movements were sluggish, his breathing was slow, and the expression on his face was as lazy as it was annoyed. His expression shifted to a mildly confused one. "What?"

"I said I want you to go to sleep." She lightly kissed his lips and pulled away with a smile. '_Lemon drops.'_

He grunted lightly after they parted from the kiss. "Why should I?"

"Because you're driving me nuts." She lay her head down, fully nuzzling into the obscuring comfort of his downy chest fur.

The dark hedgehog lightly stroked through her quills. "You've lived with me _how_ long, and my staying up is just now getting to you?"

Sara hunched her shoulders, not sure if he could see, but that was her reply. "I guess I only think about it when something happens..." She sighed a bit and held him close. "I'm surprised you aren't gray from all the worrying you do..." She looked up at him. She had his attention, of course, and she ignored his calculating gaze while meeting his lips once more, lingering a little bit longer.

He couldn't fault her for being concerned or frustrated with him. He wasn't the easiest person to get along with, and he still preferred to do many things alone. He'd hoped she wouldn't feel neglected at all because of that and tried being as affectionate as possible with her as if to compensate. She was easy to hold and comfort, and he'd learned what buttons to push in varying circumstances. Her scent was still enticing to him (though best when mixed with his own mark firmly on her. There was rarely a day that went by that he wasn't at her ears at least once). Even though he didn't sleep much, he went to bed for her sake more than anything, and if she really wanted him to sleep...maybe he could try.

"Are you listening to me?" Sara queried. She stretched out a bit and adjusted her pose so she was practically lying on top of him. He stiffened a bit and she could feel his pulse quicken. _'It's kind of cute how quickly I can excite him.'_

"Y...Yes...I'm a worrywart and you want me to cut it out." He ran his fingers through her quills again. He was definitely awake now. _'Damn it...you're going to tease me and then Ayame's going to cry and I'm to say "fuck it"...'_ "...But I'm also your mate, and if you crawl onto me any more I am going to reverse our positions hell or high water."

Sara's cheeks flushed, though it went undetected in the dim lighting. "Just promise me you'll try to lighten up a bit and get regular nights of sleep." She slightly slipped down next to him rather than on him. His following sigh was probably more due to being able to breathe better than disappointment, though that was there too.

"Do I have a choice?" He arched a brow. He kept an arm tightly around her. The way he shifted her closer indicated he wouldn't mind a little "activity." There was something of a game of cat and mouse with them where it came to physical relations…. If she showed even the slightest interest he was more than happy to comply, and for stress relief alone he was very much inclined to be "frisky." The expected baby cry burst that bubble, but at least they weren't in the middle of things like last time...

"Yes..." Sara put a hand on his chest and made him lie back down, her gaze gentle. "You can worry all you like, but it won't do you any good. Or you can ahh..._learn to let go._"

"I have...mostly." Shadow sighed a bit. She wasn't wearing a thing but a friendship bracelet around her delicate wrist. He'd given it to her as a kind of wedding ring, so he couldn't complain. Even with the trouble Ash was getting into, at least it was mostly normal teenage things...not run for your life, a bastard alien's out to kill you kind of thing.

Sara returned shortly, with Ayame in her arms. The child was latched onto one of her breasts, feeding vigorously. She sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned up against the headboard. "You're so tense most of the time," Sara said as if the conversation hadn't ended. "At least in bed... Is it that you feel caged?"

Shadow made a face, scrunched up in a mixture of confusion, disgust, intrigue, and amusement. "You're never tense," he countered. "I'm the half that worries, you're the half that doesn't."

"Say what?" She slipped partly under the sheets, letting the babe nurse there and stroking her head lightly.

"You're my better half..." He couldn't help smiling at her and the baby.

She smiled at that. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook for trying to improve... And I do too get tense."

"You're nursing Ayame in front of me while butt naked, and you know full well you were bordering on driving me nuts a minute ago," Shadow rattled off. "I'd call that pretty relaxed…."

Sara shrugged a bit. "I've been through this three times, I should be comfortable with it. And naked isn't exactly the same for us, even if it is still polite." She looked down to see Shadow had laid his head on her lap. '_Well, that's a new move.'_ "So what are we going to do about Ash disappearing? That's the main trouble right now, right?"

Shadow shrugged, his arms around her waist. "I said I'd go look for him in the morning. That's really all I can do, right?"

"Mmmhmm. So you do what you can do." She stroked his quills with her free hand. "So, when I put Ayame back to bed, you and I go to sleep, and I do mean both of us."

"Yes, mistress," he mocked and nuzzled her belly. "Sort of."

"Eh?"

"You're forgetting about the mind-blowing sex I'm going to give you before we go to sleep." She couldn't see the slightly feral grin on his face. "I need it, you need it, and besides...if I'm tired out after that, I might just go to sleep better."

Sara blushed, and Shadow chuckled at her increased vitals. "Instead of asking where the on switch is with you, I really ought to ask if there's an off."

"Nope." He grinned up at her. His gaze fell on the unattended breast and his grin grew wider. "You know... they say nice warm milk can help you sleep..."

Sara chuckled. "Hmm... sorry, but Ayame has the milk supply sewn up right now." She would've loved to kiss the top of his head, but it was out of reach with Ayame there. She hoped she finished nursing soon. "...I'll do anything if you just go to sleep though."

"Deal."

* * *

Tracey walked over to the open window of the guest room, staring out into the starry night. A lot had happened between them, and it was a bit overwhelming. He said he loved her... '_Maybe I should've listened to _some_ of those voice mails,'_ she thought.

A gentle hand was on her shoulder moments later as the hedgehog in question stood behind her slightly. "Hey...just don't want you to bite my head off, y'know?" Ash glanced over at the bed in the sparsely furnished guest room. "I can take the floor if you want." He waited for a reply, though expected silence.

"You don't have to..." Tracey sighed a bit.

"Yeah, I do." He stepped up a little closer, breathing in her scent. He removed his hand from her shoulder, even though it hadn't been refused. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Ohh...all the stars," the vixen replied. "I've never seen so many...it's...it's beautiful!" There really was awe on her voice, though Ash laughed. "What?"

"I've seen this before." There was a reflective glint in Ash's ruby red eyes. "Dad and I used to go on late night runs across country...out here where you can breathe easy, you can see so much more..."

"Wow..." It was all she could think to say, and she felt lame for saying it. She kind of wished he'd put his hand on her shoulder again.

"So now that you're not trying to stab me in the heart with another guy...you forgive me for being a jerk?"

Tracey smiled a little, "Yeah...I think so... You forgive me? I acted kind of stupid too...bringing Blitz into things…."

"Of course." There was a growing silence between them, though nothing needed to be said. They continued gazing at the stars, neither one moving for a long while. Ash dared put an arm around her waist; it was not turned away. "I missed you…." he said softly.

"Missed me...?" She had an idea what he meant, but it would have more meaning if he actually said it.

"You...our friendship…." He paused and rested his nose at the back of her ear. "I really do want to be more...if you'll let me."

"...Ash…." Tracey turned to him, her tails betraying her true mood at hearing that. "I...I'd like that." She smiled softly, her silver eyes resting on him shyly.

He pulled her into his arms, considering his next move. She showed willingness by lowering her ears in such a way as to make them accessible to him. He was truly anxious, though he hesitated for all the trouble there'd been. It seemed there would be more, as a strange mechanical noise filtered into his ears and a shadow obscured the window. "...Eh?"

Tracey frowned a bit. "This is the part where you kiss me and tell me it's forever no...t..." She glanced out the window and saw it too.

A flying ship was overhead, as well as several smaller craft. "I don't think that's from Knothole…."

"...Me either," she replied.

"Can you make out the insignia?" Ash tilted his head. He sighed inwardly that love would have to wait...but at least she'd agreed.

"...Eggman." She frowned. "I'm sure of it...some of the stuff Pops has is based on his designs…. Shit...and us without a phone."

The black and blue hedgehog glanced at his almost lover and sighed. "I think he deserves a pounding for being a mood killer..."

Tracey smirked. "I can fly higher and faster than my bro."

Ash's lips sealed on Tracey's and held hers passionately for far longer than was polite, just as the shadow was lifting, allowing light into the room once more. "You're the best..." He scooped her up in his arms and opened the window, the two quickly using it as their exit.


	21. Boiling Point

It had been months…no, years...since Eggman had been able to cause trouble on any substantial level. His fleet destroyed some years ago on Mobius left him with little to his name, save a few of his robots. He'd known it was a mistake to mass all his forces in Needle Canyon, but with Eggman Nega supposedly backing him up, things should have gone smoother.

The rotund scientist probably should have been grateful just to be alive, but with the few dunderheaded robots he was left with, restarting the factories would be a chore at best. He'd decided to stay on Mobius after the failed attack, and didn't hear about the new World Gates until several months had passed. (He rarely strayed near Mobian settlements since they were likely to arrest him on sight.)

In one of his factories, he gave favorable physical modifications to Kunoichi, who'd been salvaged from the Egg Fort. She had a faintly catlike appearance, so it was natural that the aesthetic alterations made her feline in appearance. She was a rather lovely gray lynx with white markings, a faintly jewel-like quality to her eyes the only thing betraying her metal core. She regularly secured resources and monetary spoils to the doctor (though it was mostly food to begin with) until he had a better vantage point to start with. Only one of his bases hadn't been discovered and barred from him, which was another factor that stunted the rebuilding of his armies.

Eggman had taken one cue from his genetic twin, however. Though his new force was small, it was highly specialized and _intelligent._ This meant he would have to take his time with his machinations, but he hoped it would be worth it. Obviously, numerous mindless drones were not doing anything for him but making him look bad, and semi-incompetent ones were failing even at comic relief these days.

Metal Sonic was far more fleshed out now, in more ways than one. His shiny blue frame was sleeker, metal spikes longer, claw-like fingers more dexterous. He was retooled for more close range combat, with typical eye lasers and a few missiles to compensate long range. His "skin" was far more durable than his old frame, and he had a few tricks up is sleeve, so to speak. The most refreshing change in his mind, however, came from the redesign in his face. While he still sported a spiky metallic nose, he had a malleable expression and broader range of emotion in his vocalizations, which he personally tuned to a slightly deeper register than the original Sonic. As a final touch, he expressed more personality, leaning up against the side of a wall as if thoroughly bored.

"...Are we there yet?" the automation asked in a raspy tone.

"Almost, Metal. Anxious to test your new abilities?" He grinned proudly at his "best work."

"Sort of. I just want to move." He shrugged indifferently. "Standing around, waiting, it's just plain boring."

Eggman snorted. "I gave you enough exercise going after Sonic a few days ago, wasn't that enough?"

"No. I bet he didn't even tell anyone about it." The robot sounded a bit disappointed. He'd been the one mainly in charge of retrieving emeralds, so coming into contact with Sonic was expected. Since the doctor was on the move, however, it seemed he'd waited long enough that few people remembered the terror he'd caused over a decade ago and they'd acquired six of the seven without difficulty. His conflict with Sonic was both a test and to try to find out where the last was hidden... Eggman had instructed him to hold back, which he did, only using physical force against Sonic, but his only comment was along the lines of "_Nice makeover, Metal! Who's your stylist?"_ and not being allowed to open up meant they were simply on even footing... He wanted more.

While he'd found out it was in Shadow the hedgehog's possession, that didn't help much, and Eggman was surprisingly unwilling to go after the black and red bastard. Now that the emerald had moved, it was possibly out of his hands, and the reason they were headed at last to Earth.

"Don't worry about it, I want to keep low key until we fulfill our objectives." Eggman grinned.

"Umm...Eggman-sama...would you mind...reminding me what those objectives are?" a thin gold robot, supposedly steering the ship, inquired.

Eggman let out an exasperated sigh. _'I really should have scrapped some of them...damn my sentiments….' _"World domination, business as usual," he sneered, rolling the ends of his red, yet white-tinged mustache between thumb and forefinger. He was really getting too old for this, and this was likely to be his final chance. "We gather the emeralds and threaten to take out cities with the Eclipse Canon, Mk. II."

"But what about Sonic and the others?" the fatter silver humanoid-robot inquired. "They always interfere."

Eggman rubbed his temples. "Yes, yes, That is exactly why I built up Metal Sonic and Kunoichi, not to mention the others…. There's a match for every damn furry headache."

"Weird you made them all like Mobians," a weird floating little robot mused. He hovered in the air with a hand under his chin and legs folded as though he were sitting on the floor. "I mean, don't you _hate_ Mobians?"

"Yes, Bokkun, I do!" He grabbed at the bot, to throw him across the room, though he flew just out of range, annoyingly so. "That's why bringing them down with their own forms should serve as grand irony." He smirked.

"Umm...but Kunoichi's a cat...and the only cat we have on record is Big the Cat, and he's, well...fat." The tall one received a knock on the head from the feline robot.

"Hmph. I am not fat! Decoe!" she hissed convincingly.

As long as it had been since E-91 was given synthetic fur, Eggman had done a good enough job to be sufficiently freaked out by her strength, as if not expecting it from a _Mobian_. "We'll be at the gate soon, and then the 'fun' begins." All of Eggman's pearly whites shone brilliantly in the artificial light of the deck.

"Eggman-sama...sir!" the short silver humanoid bot asked timidly.

"What is it, Bocoe!?" Eggman growled irritably.

"Umm...it looks like we have guests!" He brought up an image on the screen of a female fox with two tails, carrying a sky blue and black hedgehog, though the colors were obscured some by the darkness.

Eggman frowned slightly. '_Well this is a surprise...'_ He hoped he'd accounted for the Freedom Fighter's children well enough with the units he'd made. "E-91, get into your combat gear. Metal? Make yourself useful. Decoe? Bocoe!? Alert security but don't sound any alarms..." The fat man snorted. _'Let's see what these kids are capable of...'_

"Yes, Sir!" the two humanoid bots called, tripping over each other to do Eggman's bidding, while the two Mobian-based robots carried out their duties more casually, leaving the room in a dignified manner.

* * *

"Damn good ramen." Blitz smirked, patting his tummy contentedly.

Amy shook her head. "Uhg...you're terrible!" she scolded her eldest son.

"Yeah, you didn't bring any sushi," Rift, the younger hedgehog put in with a grin. "Just put a big ol' glop of wasabi on it and mmm mmm...!"

The pink hedgehog paled. Wasabi was basically Japanese horseradish, and describing the taste as _intense_ was an understatement…more like a kick in the teeth, then you put that on raw fish? She shuddered at his eating habits. "Eww...just no...no _NO!_" Both boys laughed. "Sonic... _please_ make them stop!"

Sonic covered his mouth in order to hide the smirk he just couldn't repress. "S-stop what?" _'Hoo boy…I cannot do this...'_ He quickly darted to his bowl of ramen, grabbing a cluster of noodles and chunks of pickled veggies and scooping it into his mouth.

"You know very well what..." Amy sighed, lamenting the lack of support on Sonic's side. She wondered if Sara had this kind of problem, but rather doubted it. Shadow was rational, mature, good looking...and the fact they had two daughters rather than two sons was probably a factor too. _'Maybe I should've seen past the hero worship just a little bit...'_ Her crude blue mate still had his finer points, and Shadow wasn't the only good looker.

"Aww come on, Blitz did save you having to cook tonight," Sonic said in a muffled tone, since he was still eating his ramen, slurping the noodles and licking his lips. He pointed his chopsticks at her briefly, "And you ought to try sushi sometime... Sara loves the stuff, and even Shadow's cool with it."

Amy cringed a bit. "...Maybe." She sighed in defeat. She was beginning to wonder when the boys would move out of the house; it was easier dealing with _one_ Sonic rather than _three_ of him. While Rift had been the quieter of the two, the closer he got to Hannah and the more his singing career took off, the more it looked like Blitz was the "quiet one," which meant absolutely nothing.

Sonic caught the look in Amy's eyes and guessed she was nearing her breaking point. "How about some fresh air?" he suggested as the bowls of ramen were disappearing.

"Sonic…." She moaned a bit. "It's late..."

He shrugged. "Not late enough for me." He tapped his foot impatiently as he leaned back precariously on his chair. "Maybe we could visit Mobius a bit? Gate City's not as developed, so you get to see more stars," he elaborated a bit.

Amy's expression softened a bit. "...Maybe." That _did_ sound romantic...they hadn't gone star gazing in a while.

"Hey, boys, wanna race?" Sonic smiled and the two boys beamed back at him.

_'Then again...'_ Amy hung her head.

* * *

Ash almost purred with pride at how quickly Tracey had carried them both to the Egg Fort 4. "Fast and pretty, nice combo," he said gently, quickly looking for an entrance to the lower levels of the ship. It wasn't hard to spot, but there were turret guns on deck, as well as a few generic humanoid robots. "I'll add genius to the list if you get us inside without a conflict."

She swatted his arm lightly, smiling at his mild "ouch" of mock pain. "Okay...they probably have regular patrols. Depending on what sets off the lasers, we might have a problem." She glanced at the smooth metal deck; there wasn't anything sticking up they could use to demonstrate motion sensitivity…. She did spy a few crates, though. That could be a good distraction if they fell over, but then there was the question of what was inside...explosives, perhaps? "Can you get me over there without being noticed?"

The bi-color hedgehog nodded. In a flash, he'd run her to the other side of the deck, the pair hiding behind the crates. "What's here?" he asked quietly.

Tracey inspected the crates, a smile drawn on her face. "This…." She pried back a piece of rotten wood and caught a couple of black balls that fell out of it. Ash looked at them curiously. "Bombs," she explained.

"I said subtle. Bombs are not subtle." Ash frowned a bit.

The orange vixen just smiled. "Trust me." She hit a timer on one of the bombs and motioned for him to go back to their first hiding spot. Just before the timed bomb blew, she lobbed one that she'd taken from the crate at the turrets. They blew up at the same time, causing the robots to scramble to put out the explosion, and leaving a nice gaping hole where the door was.

"I guess that could've been a malfunction..." He grinned a bit and whisked her inside.

The pair went through the metal corridors that were devoid of life, as expected. They were long and straight, so if anything showed up at one end, they'd know it. Shadows down the side hallways would be another thing to look for, though the place was fairly dim to begin with.

There was little talking between the two as they strolled down the halls, wary of any noises. Visibility for them also meant visibility for the robots, and theirs probably included night vision, motion sensors, and heat vision. They'd never encountered Eggman before, but they'd heard enough stories of their parents' exciting youth to know not to underestimate him. The long corridor eventually sloped downward, and they were faced with a sliding metal door.

"Shit. Now what?" Ash put a hand on his hip, seeing no way to open the door but for a keypad to the left with some kind of scanner on it.

"Well, we can either wait for a sentry or blow it." She held up a bomb with a grin on her face.

Ash glanced around. They hadn't met any trouble yet really. "Yeah. Go for it." He stood back from her a bit, admiring the view of her shapely body, particularly her butt as she leaned over to place one of the bombs. _'Eggman is getting so beaten for disturbing us it's not even funny..._' Teenage male hormones accounted for, he tried to focus on the task at hand; finding out what Egghead was up to.

"That should do it!" She smiled and the pair backed up a bit more. The explosion was hardly a Hollywood production, but the precise blast did have the desired effect of blowing the door open...and the undesirable effect of rousing those within….

"Wait..._Dad_?" Ash blinked as he caught sight of a black and red hedgehog surrounded by what looked like Tails, Nack, Rouge, and Knuckles.

"Sorry." The black and red hedgehog form grinned. "EM-04, Metal Shadow." He motioned to the others. "Red there is EM-03, Metal Knuckles; Metal Tails is EM-02; Metal Fang is 07."

"Nice to see you're so talkative...y' haven't met my real dad, have you?" Ash cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight.

Tracey's tails bristled at the mockery of her father, though at the same time she was intrigued by the metal creation. They were definitely higher caliber than what she was expecting of Eggman. "How many of you _things_ are there?" She did feel a little giddy, wanting to look at their specs now to see what made them tick.

"Ten," Metal Tails replied simply. "But is that any way to talk to your father?" He slipped into as natural a tone as he could mimic, startling Tracey. "Fang, Rouge, block the exits. We're taking them down personally."

"Bring it!" Ash smirked, a slight green aura beginning to bleed its way around his body.

* * *

Sara couldn't say that Shadow was a particularly gentle lover, though he could be, but he was more than satisfying in her opinion. She thought they were up to about eight at this point as she rolled over, curling up in the bed sheets. Shadow had left her for a bathroom break, which was annoying her for the time being. _'He doesn't kid when he says _mind-blowing._'_ The sky blue hedgehog smiled like the Cheshire cat, she was so pleased. He'd even managed to handle breaking to change Ayame's diaper between numbers five and six, so she was free to lull about in bed for a change.

Shadow returned to bed, sitting on the edge of it and smiling at his beautiful mate. He had her all fired up enough for a couple more rounds, which he'd be happy to oblige. He just needed a little more recovery time and he'd be all hers again. "...Happy?"

"Delirious." Sara laughed. She didn't mind the shadow that covered her a second later; after all, it meant a certain black and red hedgehog was staring down on her with his crimson eyes wide. Instinctively, she reached up and tousled his white chest fur lovingly.

He kissed the top of her head and then met her lips. She tasted sweet to him, though he couldn't think exactly what she reminded him of. He only broke off the kiss reluctantly and quickly dove for another. Maybe then he could discern her taste? '_Mmmmmmm... It doesn't get any better than this….'_

...And then the phone rang. Shadow's pleased grin quickly fell to a scowl. His crimson eyes delivered a deathly stare at the offending phone. Sara wrapped her arms around him apologetically, though he managed somehow to just sigh and pick up the ringing wonder. "...Hello?" he grunted darkly.

"_Hi, Shads."_ Shadow cringed at Sonic's "casual" name for him.

'_My tongue is going to bleed if I have to hold it much longer,'_ he thought. "What...is...it...?"

Sonic's voice hesitated a moment. _"Umm. Looks like Eggman's decided to show up…."_

Shadow groaned. _'Not now…._'

"What is it?" Sara asked softly, noting his crestfallen expression.

"So where is ol' Baldy now?" Shadow said with highly managed breathing.

"_Gate City. Decided to go on a lil' run with the fam' and I see a big ol' fort hangin' in the air…. Hey, Shad? You still there? I mean...I can probably handle it, just thought you'd like to know..."_

Shadow had to think about it…. It wasn't like Sonic couldn't handle himself. Blitz and Rift were likely there too, even if they weren't real combatants. "...Think you can handle it? I really was kind of _busy_..." He let his gaze linger on Sara's warm smile and waiting lips. Through the phone, he could hear a startled gasp from Amy, though she tended to get easily spooked.

Sonic whistled. "_Holy shit...I think we spotted your son._"

_'Fuck….'_ "Okay, be there in a few." He hung up without another word, then sighed.

"What was that about?" Sara inquired of him, the concern clinging to her face.

"Sonic spotted Ash..." He noted her expression brightened. His tone remained fairly disappointed, "Looks like trouble, though, this time Eggman's the cause."

"I thought we saw the last of him like...fifteen years ago, wasn't it?" she replied.

"Yeah," Shadow said flatly. He nuzzled her forehead lightly. He then glanced at the window he'd likely be using as a door momentarily. His gaze then fell back on Sara... Maybe Ash could wait a few minutes?

"You need to go, I'll be right here when you get back." She tugged on his chest fur lightly and drew him in for a goodbye kiss. "...I promise."


	22. Not So Little Anymore

"You're not my dad." Tracey glowered at the metal copy.

Like the other Eggman Metal series robots, its eyes were red with black where normal people had the whites of their eyes. None of them had fur, but their sleek forms had a more "organic" feel to them than the typical robots Eggman constructed. Behind the glossy paint jobs lay well articulated metal appendages. The way MetaTails (his own nickname for himself) had his tails sway from side to side was a very natural movement and showed none of the joints or weak spots older models may have had.

"Maybe, but I can still spank ya." MetaTails grinned as he launched into action, thrusters and tails working to propel him forward at an alarming speed.

Tracey quickly sped out of the way, her tails twirling swiftly, carrying her almost to the ceiling at high velocity. As she slowed herself down, she tossed one of the bombs at the automaton. _'I am not getting my ass kicked by a robot!_'

"Trace!" Ash called anxiously; his jaw connected to a metal fist moments later, sending him into the door frame painfully.

"Okay, I talk more than your dad, eh? Well, at least I'm not so easily distracted." Metal Shadow made as if to crack his knuckles. "How many kids did the black bastard have anyway? Eggman's records have been a lil' sketchy on his favorite targets lately."

Ash groaned at the pain already in his back. His quills had been quite tense upon impact, and that meant they'd been pushed in a manner they weren't meant to flex in. He was also winded from the impact, and trying to recover, slowly placed a foot on the metal flooring. The dual-colored hedgehog gripped the edge of the door frame to steady himself. He wasn't expecting that, or the clawed hand rapidly drawing toward his face. He held up his hands and gave a shout, something booming from his lips, though he couldn't recall what, as an emerald wave of energy caught the black and red robot and forced him back a few feet.

"Chaos abilities confirmed," Metal Shadow said, lowering his hands to his side and inspecting the teen. "So how many of you? Do they all have powers?"

Ash's eyes narrowed at the robot. "Why should I tell you?"

"To make it easier for us to find and kill you all, of course." The mechanical voice seemed to have a sadistic pleasure mounting in its tone as he strode forward. No high speed chase for him. "Weak little meat-bag." He forced his arm forward, palm outstretched, a green laser firing from it.

On the other end of the room, Tracey was being chased by the copy of her father, lobbing the few remaining bombs at him, but they didn't seem to have any effect. "My my, well, you are faster than your father." The metal creation grinned as the silver eyed vixen came precariously close to the Metal Rouge.

"Hey, hon, wanna play?" Metal Rouge grinned, using a very sultry tone as she leapt into the air and kicked Tracey in the back of the head.

The orange Vixen's tails ceased to rotate as her body assessed the force of the impact. "Uhmmmph!" She fell out of the air and skidded a few feet on her shoulders. "Y-you..."

"I'm afraid I'm a little bit stronger than your dad." The metal Tails smiled proudly. He whipped around in mid-air, a flurry of small spikes leaving from a small series of holes around a particular rim of the segmented tails.

"Aaahh...!" Tracey winced as the spikes stuck in a line of red dots along her back. A set of red and white metal shoes were in her line of sight as the fox robot landed. "...B...bastard."

"Really... Such coarse language from a girl? Tsk, your dad would be unhappy I'm sure," Metal Tails had an airy but sarcastic tone.

_'These things really hurt...'_ She bit her lower lip. She was almost certain it contained some sort of toxin, as a tingling and burning sensation spread from the wounds. "What did you do to me...?" she asked quietly, her silver eyes making contact with his reds. While she held his focus, she gathered up a few of the spikes that had missed her subtly and drew herself to her knees.

"I won." He beamed back at her, his black and red eyes smiling with delight. "The venomous serum in the needles is going to cause paralysis in just a few minutes. Oh, it won't kill you, not in that small of a dose. About thirty more needles might, though. Oh, and I can fire one hundred of those in less than a second."

She nodded. "Impressive. Neuro-toxins, eh? But a hundred rps is kind of weak, isn't it?" Tracey inquired as she drew to her feet. Her tails swayed back in forth, high and proud, lightly brushing away the offending spikes stuck in her back. They weren't deep wounds, and most of them fell out within a few brushings.

The robot was taken aback at those words. "Eh? Weak? I am not!"

Tracey smiled a bit. "Well then...if you think you're that good, we'll see if you can get another chance at that little tail flip," she said sweetly and wound up her tails, taking to the air again. "I'll even upgrade ya if you can keep up." Her hand swiftly whipped the spikes she'd collected back at the metal Tails. As she had guessed, while his metal skin was as tough as nails, his optic sensors weren't.

"Gah! ...Bitch!" MetaTails grumbled, his visuals suddenly cracked and fuzzy. While the Rouge robot went to see what she'd done, Tracey literally flew down the hall.

"Damnit! You're letting her get away!" Metal Knuckles bellowed and flew after her, Rouge's copy giving a glance back at Metal Fang and Shadow before following.

Metal Tails laughed at his own stupidity, letting a girl get the better of him. While he felt no pain in doing so, it was probably still freaky watching him pull the pins from his eyes. Nano-technology quickly began repairing the tears in his optic sensors, his blurred vision slowly coming around. If he'd waited for the repair cycle to finish fully, it would take about an hour, but he wasn't about to wait. "Come on ta Papa, bitch! You need a good spankin'!" Metal Tails growled and laughed at the same time, giving chase down the corridor. "She's mine!"

Another green blast shot inches from Ash's nose, his heart frozen in his chest as he watched the forms flee down the hall. "You really need to stop looking at your girlfriend," Metal Shadow almost sighed. "Anyway, it won't matter how many of you there are if they're all weaklings like you." He shrugged casually.

"I'm not..." Ash grunted, though he wished he sounded more convincing. He knew there had to be Chaos Emeralds around; he could feel the energies…he just couldn't...grasp them. _'I am weak...'_ His head drooped as he attempted to catch his breath, startled by a metal hand clutching his black chest fur. "H-hands off!" There was no way he could fight the iron grip of the metal creature holding him. He could hear Metal Fang laughing in the background.

"I think you need some fresh air." Metal Shadow raised a hand, a beam of green light piercing the roof.

"Aww shit man, Eggman's gonna be pissed." the Metal Fang shook his head.

"Yeah, he can talk to me about it later. I need to stretch my legs." He grinned sadistically, jumping up through the rough hole he'd made, not being careful to account for the space needed for the hedgehog to pass through. Ash's yells and whimpers were quite rewarding to him as a few quills were forcibly ripped and fur torn by the hot and jagged edges of the hole. Reaching the fresh air on the deck of the ship, he smiled at the barely conscious hedgehog. A sinister smile lingered on his face as he tossed the boy into the air and brought his fist to his chest as he came down.

_'...Tracey..._' Ash's vision was blurred, the dark shapes melding into nothing as his crimson eyes reluctantly closed.

* * *

"Eggman-Sama..." the gold humanoid bot cried. "Metal Shadow's breaking up the ship again..."

Eggman sighed, but when he looked at the visual on the monitor, chiefly a hedgehog getting his ass kicked, a slow smile tugged the corners of his mouth. "Small price I suppose, Decoe." He twisted his mustache in amusement.

"But...Eggman..." Bocoe chirped, "why are you not threatening to dismantle him for tearing up your ship?"

Eggman gave a hearty laugh, his rotund middle shaking well enough to make a jollier holiday icon jealous. "Oh ho ho ho! Don't you see, my metallic morons? He's winning." That was one guest accounted for...now the other... "Metal Fang! Where is the girl?"

The purple weasel robot shrugged. "Can't go far, MetaTails, MetaRouge, and MetaKnuckles are after her."

A little vein on Eggman's forehead began pulsating, "She '_can't go far_?' Need I remind you what _past_ robots have failed to do by that mentality?" He frowned. While it was true that the Shadow robot was likely murdering his original's offspring with relative ease...four others had failed so far to take down Tails' daughter. "Go after her at once!"

"Yes, your royal blubberyness," Metal Fang said in an even tone, picking his teeth habitually with one of the spikes left behind as a toothpick.

Eggman quirked a brow. "Just what the heck do you think you're doing?" he asked in reference to the metal toothpick.

"Pickin' my teeth," he replied casually, sticking the small metal spike between his prominent metal canine and premolar. "It's just a habit." He shrugged, lazily heading for the door. "You programmed us to have our lil' quirks, Doc."

Eggman sighed. "That I did..." he lamented. _'That I did….'_

* * *

"Sonic...!" Amy said in a pleading tone as she caught sight of a falling figure; she grabbed Sonic's arm, drawing his attention skyward.

Sonic whistled as he continued his little chat with Shadow, "Holy shit...I think we spotted your son." His grip on the phone slackened so it slipped from his hand long before he heard Shadow's reply. There weren't many buildings in the area, let alone as tall as he needed to get to the ship, but the falling figure was a different story. Just as the piece of cellular technology smashed on the ground below, the cobalt wonder's feet left the tip of the highest building he could find. His arms quickly wrapped around the form, wincing in surprise at the heat radiating from the burn marks he just now noticed on the boy. Before the cell phone came to it's final resting place, shifting as it did from the impact, Sonic's feet came to a solid halt in front of Amy.

"Oh my...Ash...!" Her eyes widened at the unconscious boy. "What happened?"

"Three guesses, and the first two don't count." Sonic frowned, glancing back at the Egg fort 4. "I have a feeling we're about to find out the hard way." He glanced at Amy, then his two sons. Ash probably needed help, and sending Amy away wouldn't do. Then there was the factor of Shadow...he was probably on his way. He hoped, at least. "All right, who wants to be dimwit's bodyguard?" he asked concerning the blue and black hedgehog.

"Me," Blitz said, quickly volunteering. "You need me to get him to the MRC, or just play keep-away 'til Uncle Shads shows up?"

"Keep away." Sonic nodded.

"Got it." Blitz smiled at Rift. "Remember all our play fighting?" His younger brother nodded. "Get ready for the real thing." His gaze turned skyward, where two small craft had broken free of Eggman's escort.

Sonic smiled a bit at Amy. "Still up for this kinda thing?" he asked while stretching.

"Guess I have no choice," she replied, a faint shimmering outline of a hammer appearing in her hand. "I hope I can still do this." Both Rift and Blitz were a little stunned at the appearance of the ghostly hammer, Sonic the only one worried that it wasn't solid yet.

* * *

"Ahh, Shadow, you're lucky I'm a night owl." Tails smirked as the black and red hedgehog entered his personal hangar. Kit was standing next to him, the brown furred and silver eyed kitsune clad like his father in a grease-covered jumpsuit. "Not like you to give a call, though, without reason," he commented casually.

No smile entered the hedgehog's solemn expression as he looked about the high-tech facility. It had not one, but a little over a half-dozen aircraft of varying sizes and specs. Some were clearly for speed, leisure, and/or fighting. "I think I know where Tracey is, and if she's with Ash, they're both in trouble."

Tails' cheerful expression grew dark quickly. "Then you're wanting a ride I take it?" He began peeling off his greasy rags and reaching for his aviator goggles and tossing a pair to his son.

"Yes," Shadow confirmed. "Gate City. Eggman's around."

"...So he's probably got another floating fort." Tails rolled his clear blue eyes. He pulled on a pair of gloves untouched by grime; they were a brown patent leather-like material. "Lucky for you, you don't have to ride shotgun today." He grinned and headed for his trusty Tornado 3.

"That's a one-seater," Shadow commented as Tails climbed into the blue and yellow plane.

"Yeah. Kit? Take the Typhoon." He smiled amiably as he started preparing for launch.

The younger fox brightened considerably. "You mean it?!" His tails wagged happily in anticipation.

"Of course. We're going after your sister, not just his lil' brat." Tails grinned, pointing to Shadow, who snorted reply.

"Awesome." Kit beamed and headed over to a somewhat larger construction, motioning for Shadow to join him.

* * *

Tracey had a bit of a head start on the robots following her, and reportedly speed that surpassed her father. Comforting as that was, the toxins in her body would soon bring an end to that. The Mobian body was particularly resilient when it came to poisons and toxins of varying kinds, so she just needed to bide her time if she could. Ash was getting hurt because of her too, she thought bitterly.

She spied an open door and quickly darted inside. Expecting to find it an open room full of cargo or computers or weapons, she was quite surprised to find it was, in fact, a bathroom. It wasn't just a bathroom; it looked like a public bathroom, with a lineup of urinals on the wall, and toilet stalls, and a row of sinks at varying levels. _'What the hell? I can understand there being one for Eggman but geeze….'_ She blinked her silver-gray eyes a few times as if she was seeing things. The clanging of metal footfalls barreling down the corridor woke her up from her ponderings, and she hid in the most logical place, one of the stalls.

To her great relief, all three robots passed her by, though she could hear them yelling for her. They said everything from threats to promises she wouldn't be hurt if she just gave up. Honestly, did they think she was that stupid?

She sighed a bit and let her feet finally touch the ground as she sat on the toilet, trying to recuperate her strength. A throbbing headache had begun troubling her and she was just now feeling the effects of the toxins. Her body was tight and tense, pain and heat stinging her where the small spikes had hit her. The vixen forced her mind to concentrate on the swaying of her tails, which was slow and methodical. She had more than one reason for doing this aside taking away from her growing pains, it was an indicator of her body's condition, how well it was doing. She planned to move on when her body's mobility regained its usual articulation.

Plans oft' go awry, though, as a ninja-robot fell down from above, holding a knife to her throat in seconds. "Feel free to take that shit now, I don't want you making a mess on the way to the boss," a female voice came to the startled vixen's ears.

* * *

Sonic chose to dive at Amy and get her to safety rather than let her hold her ground as a hovercraft carrying a pink robot was on a collision course for her. The hammer still wasn't fully manifested, and Sonic's snatching her up into his arms made it dissipate altogether. Her arms snagged around him tightly and her body shivered. His eyes fell compassionately on his mate, remembering how much of a damsel in distress she'd been when they first met. "It's okay," he comforted.

Amy managed a weak smile to that. "I'm sorry...I'm just not...not that...strong."

Sonic nuzzled into her ear as he sprinted across the pavement, laser fire at his heels. "Nah, you're stronger than you know," his tone was firm and deeper than usual. Her cheeks turned pink like her body as his words hit her; _this_ kind of thing was exactly why she fell in love with him. "Ya put up with me all these years, after all."

She was about to say something when Sonic took a jog up the side of a building. The sudden shift in positions caused her to bury her face into his chest so she wouldn't have to look at the dizzying world trailing behind them. When his gait had leveled out onto the rooftops, she got a good look at the robot flying the hovercraft...a metal copy of herself. Her quills bristled at the indignation of a pale, _cheap_ copy like that!

"Hey! Watch the spines!" Sonic laughed.

"Sonic," Amy's voice was much more resolute. "Put me down...I have a faker to take care of."

Sonic rounded the building he was running on, and catching sight of the pink pilot, he understood. _'Damn. His copies are getting better and that is a sexy number!'_ he thought inwardly, unintentionally admiring the form hugging purple suit (if you could call it that) that the Amy copy was wearing. He made note to find something similar for Amy's next birthday, if he couldn't outright steal it, that was.

The pink hedgehog was set on the rooftop, the wind billowing her skirt and threatening to give Sonic a more pleasant view of the original. But her face wasn't smiling. The metallic copy noticed her sitting there like a good little target, and aimed her lasers at her. They fired but never hit the target, as a kind of psychic shield deflected the energy. Amy held her arm to one side, her hand open, and her focus grim. In it, the Piko Piko hammer fully materialized.

_'She's baaaack!'_ Sonic smiled approvingly, glancing between her and the bot, ready to step in if things got too intense.

On the ground, the purple terrors were playing a game of keep-away with little boy blue being tossed between them. They were being chased by a second, larger vehicle with three robotic passengers: a chameleon, a crocodile, and a bee.

"Eggman's going to be mad if we don't catch them soon!" the robot bee whined.

"So catch them! What the hell's the problem!?" the robotic croc growled lowly.

"These must be Sonic's children. We're not catching them with speed or sniping," Metal Espio said coolly. "Metal Charmy? You fly after one while Metal Vector tails the other."

"And just what are _you_ going to do?" the pseudo-reptile growled irritably as he opened fire on the kids again, both leaping nimbly over the spread fire and kicking any bombs back at him.

"The usual…take care of _your_ job by capturing them. I'll be hiding about three blocks east of here; just worry about leading them there. You can't catch them, but you can herd them." He smiled as he turned invisible and leapt out the window.

"Bastard's probably right…." Vector's metal doppelganger groaned. He turned to the bee. "Well? What are you still doing here?"

"Oh...right!" the bee-bot said absently mindedly and flew out the window of the craft after the taller of the two hedgehogs.

"Hey, Bro! Toss me sleeping beauty, will ya?" Rift asked as the pair ran along the walls of buildings on opposite sides of the street.

"Okay, he was getting heavy anyway!" Blitz replied, kicking off the building, and deftly depositing his friend in his little brother's arms. He redirected himself up the side of the building, noticing the bee following him. Like the buzz bombers of old, the insectoid robot was able to fire energy shots from his sting. Maybe it was something in Sonic's bloodline, but he was enjoying the rush of speed much more with the danger factor attached. That was probably the reason he enjoyed Extreme Gears, the danger of it, and he had the broken and cracked ribs to prove it.

Rift suddenly lamented having taken on his brother's burden as the robotic reptile shot at him. '_Man, I'd love to fight back...'_ He heaved a sigh and decided to trail along the pavement for a while, running backwards on the cool asphalt. '_I bet those jaws are dangerous...'_ "Hey! Tin grin! Aintcha got better things to do than chase me an' dead weight?"

"Yeah. Tear you to shreds when I catch you!" the crocodilian barked over his small ship's audio system.

* * *

"Eggman-Sama! We are almost through the gate!" Decoe alerted the Doctor on their progress,

"Very good," Eggman said boredly, considering what his next move should be. "What's the status of the battle and our escapee?"

"The Metal Chaotix have engaged two purple hedgehogs," Decoe began.

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Blitz and Rift if the records are right. Go on," he said, waving a hand. He was leaned back on a very comfortable chair with his chin resting on a supportive hand over the armrest.

"Umm...Metal Amy is engaging the original and well...Sonic's just standing there," Bocoe put in.

"What?" Eggman asked curiously of the robots.

"He's just...standing there, watching them fight," Bocoe's tone was slightly wondrous and dazed.

Eggman shifted his head to his other hand, thinking. "And the vixen?"

"Caught," Kunoichi practically purred from the doorway, chucking the fox into the room, metal restraints around her wrists, ankles, and tails.

"Good work, Kunoichi!" Eggman smiled at the feline robot. "Well then, looks like it's time for Metal Sonic to have his fun." His smile widened. The Freedom Fighters of old were scattered, and the kids that had come to challenge him hadn't been properly trained to deal with a madman like himself. There was little doubt in the bald villain's mind that soon, very soon...Sonic the hedgehog would fall, and the Eggman Empire would rise. _'I'll show that good-for-nothing cheat Nega what the future really holds for me...'_ he thought, a cackling, cruel laughter leaving his lips.


	23. Flight or Fight

Shadow had a lot to think about as he sat in the back seat of the Typhoon, a green and yellow fighter jet of Tails' and Kit's making. It had been a while since he'd needed _to_ fight, for starters, and even the fights he had with Sonic had been growing steadily calmer and more like a chess game. They knew each other too well, so unless one of them was having a bad day, the drive behind it seemed to have fizzled out. Blitz, Rift, and Maria had done some sparring back when she was younger, but she eventually grew out of it. There was a grim realization in Shadow's mind that, while he recognized potential in his children, none of them were fighters.

None of them really knew about fighting, though, about how it could be a way of life and natural as breathing. It was in his blood; it had once been all he had. A fight to survive, a fight to grow stronger, a struggle to prove who he was, to be more than the sum of his parts, to be unique, to keep a promise, to really live…he'd been and done all those things for the peace they'd reaped the benefits of. Nobody feared Maria, nobody feared Ash, and only he felt apprehension about his last child Ayame. Maybe they were too docile, though…. _'I should have taught them better...'_

"Hey, Shadow! You awake, man?" Kit's cheerful voice called back to him, bringing Shadow back to the present. He was typically quiet but gave a warranted grunt of reply, which made the young fox laugh. "Okay okay, well, we're getting near the portal, but it doesn't look like we need to go through."

The jet's windows were more of a domed top that allowed a clear 360 field of vision for them. Shadow's crimson eyes quickly fell on the egg carrier (or fortress) and its small floating armada. "Kind of small force considering Eggman's tastes…."

"_It still means trouble. Want me to hail him or just go in guns blazing?" _Tails' voice came through the communications system. _"Chances are, he'll fire on us, one way or another."_

"Might as well," Shadow agreed.

"So this is really _the_ Eggman ya told me about?" Kit asked curiously, silver eyes shining with excitement. He'd done plenty of maneuvers with his father, enough that he was really excited about possibly putting his flying skills to a real test. He wasn't worried at all; he could always fly away, even if an ejection seat failed as it had once during a routine training flight. Even though he didn't know how his charge would land in the event of an emergency, he'd heard enough about Shadow that there was next to no concern over his safety. Just the jet, his baby.

"Looks that way," Shadow yawned. "Hail him already."

The twin-tailed mechanic nodded and flipped a couple switches, visual displays popping up directly onto a pane of glass in front of shadow, and one semi-transparent one just to the side of Kit's vision; a similar one was on a console in Tails' plane.

"Bokkun!" Tails addressed the floating orbish robot with a blue tongue who had answered the call. "Go get Eggman, will ya?"

"Bah! What do I look like, a messenger?" He made a face, sticking out said tongue at them.

"Yep." Tails smiled. "That's what you were built for, right?"

Bokkun's face soured. "Oi...you're no fun."

Shadow leaned up close to the display, his canines bared and face grim. "Get him. Now."

Though he didn't raise his tone, he sent fear through the little messenger bot, who jerked back suddenly at Shadow's command. "Y-Yes, sir, right away!" he sputtered and flew off.

Kit glanced back at the scowling black and red hedgehog and let out a low whistle. "Damn...I am so glad you're on our side..."

* * *

There was a loud thud where Amy's hammer impacted the robot Amy's small craft. The robot had made several sweeping passes at her in an attempt to riddle her with the craft's firepower, but it had failed to cut through the shield she put up, and then, even when the shield fell, she was able to deflect the shots back at her using the hammer. Sharp spikes protruded from the front of the craft in an effort to mow her down, but it had just met the blunt end of a mallet, the force behind it so strong that it launched the pseudo-Amy from her seat.

The real Amy, pink and pretty in her dress, slipped back a few steps as the concrete rooftop gave way under the pressure of the blow. She smiled with satisfaction as the machine crunched and buckled like an accordion, then with the force of the blow was cast aside until it slid into an antenna on the roof.

For a moment, Amy could hardly believe the strength to do that actually existed, let alone from her own body. She didn't have time to contemplate it very long, as her doppelganger came down upon her, foot outstretched. "Uhg...you're a pest!" Amy growled and ducked under the kick, arcing the hammer upwards to club her as she came down. She missed, and the more scantily clad robot came to a stop a few feet away, whirling around and striking a mocking pose.

"Not to _my_ Sonic I'm not." The evil copy glowered, pride welling up in a smile on her sweet face as she gave a glance and a wink at the real Sonic.

Amy's quills bristled, and the hammer seemed to stretch out a few inches more, extending her reach. "I'm not a pest to _mine_ either...and _I_ can do something I am quite sure neither you nor he are capable of!" she hissed venomously at her copy.

"What? Like some vulgar show of what _animals_ you are?" Metal Amy grinned and removed her headband, the object straightening out as she grasped it. It elongated, and one end morphed into a hammer shape, while the other end became a sickle-like counterweight. "I'm sure your _beast_ of a mate would love that."

Amy's emerald eyes shone with a fire beneath them that hadn't been seen in years. "A _beast?_ I'll show you what we're made of!" she called defiantly, gripping her hammer, which trembled with power built by her rage, and rushed her opponent.

Sonic watched the two girls with extreme interest and probably a bit of color in his cheeks. '_Man, did it just get hot out here or what?'_ His tail was held high and ears forward and focused, his green eyes alight with anticipation. He watched them in rapt attention; the hammers collided, the two broke away, one would attack, the other would dodge. As it went on, Amy's skirt got snagged on the downed antenna and ripped some, and later on got clawed. It was quite the show, and Sonic was simply mesmerized as the two females tore at each other, and a slight purr nearly escaped his lips...nearly.

While Sonic's attention was paid to the girls, Metal Sonic had left the Egg Fortress using thrusters to fly down, laughing inside at how distracted his adversary was. _'Maybe it was a good idea I encouraged Metal Amy….'_ he thought. He clenched his clawed hands into fists and dove at Sonic, connecting well with his jaw as he descended and landed on the building. A satisfactory noise that was a mixture of shock and pain filled his sensors, and a certain sense of calm washed over the robot. '_This is it.'_

"Sonic!" Amy cried and narrowly avoided getting sliced by a dangerous pair of stiletto heels.

"And there's _my Sonic_," Metal Amy said with pride.

"Can it. Just kill the girl before I do," Metal Sonic said coldly and watched his opponent rise to his feet. "Don't look so surprised, blue boy. This is judgment day." He smiled a sinister smile and unclenched his fists, letting his razor sharp claws speak volumes.

"I'm all right, Amy..." Sonic's green eyes glinted menacingly at his double. "Hmph...looks like Egghead's getting better." He stretched and cracked his neck, and while his pose seemed relaxed enough, he was quite ready to spring into action, more now than he ever had been. Everything went silent as the combatants exchanged meaningful looks; this was it.

* * *

"We all know how this is going to end," Eggman droned. "Quite frankly I'm not all that interested in losing my small fleet to the likes of you."

Tails wasn't quite sure how to respond to that; it wasn't like Eggman to give up…. He kept his wary eyes on the few ships flying in tow with the fortress, knowing better than to let down his guard. _"We've made scrap iron of your forces before, and we'll do it again if we have to!" _the fox said with determination.

Eggman laughed. "I haven't even fired a _shot!"_ Eggman lied, in part. He hadn't done anything to Station Square yet...Gate City was another matter.

_"Where's Tracey?!"_ Kit piped up, jumping into the conversation.

"Ehh?" Eggman just now regarded the younger fox, noting his brown fur and silver eyes. If it weren't for the eyes he would've sworn Tails was just in a darker light. "Tracey...?"

_"My sister!"_ Kit bristled. _"She was with Ash, and we _know _they were on your ship!"_

Eggman grimaced a bit. "Ahh yes...well...if Ash was the boy hedgehog, I'm afraid there's not much hope for him."

"Liar!" Tracey struggled against the restraints put on her, though Kunoichi held her back. "He's not gone!"

_"Tracey!"_ Kit brightened.

_"What did you do to my son?"_ Shadow's voice rasped darkly. His quills flared out menacingly as his eyes held a darker, more sinister edge than those of his metal copy.

Eggman shifted uncomfortably. "Keep her quiet!" he commanded Kunoichi, then turned back to the display, sweat beading off his brow. '_If Shadow's involved, this could get messy quickly...'_ He took a moment to clear his throat.

"_**Where is he**__?"_ Shadow's tone reflected a very short temper.

If Eggman was planning on threatening Tracey to get Tails to stop it would probably work, but holding back Shadow? "Well...I don't know. But he's not a prisoner here!" he put in quickly, "unlike a certain two-tailed fox."

"_We're goin' in then!" _Kit smiled and cut off communications.

"W-Wait! I…." Eggman began.

Tails smiled and sighed in relief. _"Sorry, Eggman, I don't think I can talk him out of this, so we're coming in whether you let us or not!"_ The fox signed out.

Eggman heaved a sigh. "Attention all EM units on board! We will be having guests shortly! Assemble in the cargo areas and on deck to give them...a _warm_ welcome!"

* * *

It was one thing to try herding Sonic's children, it was quite another to actually do it. The pair liked showing off every bit as much as their father and didn't seem to lack an ounce of energy. Blitz and Rift frequently passed each other, playing keep away with their unconscious friend.

"Man, you have got to lose weight." Blitz smiled a bit as he ran, a flying annoyance firing energy blasts at his heels. "Come on...wake up already!" He shifted Ash more onto his shoulders as he and his brother approached the square where Metal Espio was hiding.

Rift was getting a bit tired of playing games, and the open square invited him in. "If this is what our pops had to deal with, these guys are boring." He took a strong vertical leap into the air and landed on top of Vector's craft.

"Why you!" Metal Vector growled menacingly and sent his craft spinning wildly, trying to toss off the hedgehog.

"Sorry, tin grin!" Rift called airily and jumped off the craft; he then gave it a nice skylight by doing a homing attack to the top. While the craft spun out, he grabbed the edge of the newly made hole and went in feet first, connecting with Metal Vector's face.

The crocodile gave a fanged grin. "Ohh you're in for it now!" He lunged at Rift with his gaping metal maw, ready to tear him to shreds.

The more agile hedgehog swiftly ducked under the lumbering robot and made a sweeping kick to take out his legs. "Missed me!"

Metal Vector growled and pulled his fangs from the small craft's seating before righting himself fully, towering over the teen. He spat out a bit of padding before his grin returned. "Ya know, you may be fast, but these are small quarters," he said, reaching for his headphones.

"So?" The small purple hedgehog shrugged. "I'm smaller and more agile. I'll be runnin' all over your face and using your tongue as a spring board before you'll ever crunch me!"

Metal Vector laughed at that. "Yeah...yeah, but you still gotta be able to back those words up." He pulled back the phones, and a sonic sound wave blasted out the Hover's cockpit.

The deafening roar did just that; as Rift's ears fell back to try and block out the tone, a bit of blood trickled from his ears and he couldn't even hear his own surprised gasp. Whatever the metal vector was saying to him was lost, though the change of the tone suddenly rattled his bones. _'He's using sound as a weapon!'_ He probably swore at the crocodile, but he couldn't hear it; he just knew he wanted to wipe that grin off the robot's face. The main problem he was having now was one of equilibrium. If he could knock out the phones, he might have a chance...

Blitz came to a sharp stop, the bee robot continuing forward, his momentum too great. The hedgehog laughed, "You need to talk to Eggman about that braking system!" He grinned. He'd stopped before a soccer ball lying in the street and gave it a solid strike at the bee, the ball catching on his sting. "Gotcha!" He grinned.

"Hey no fair no fair!" Charmy's robotic twin cried, tumbling end over end trying to dislodge the ball.

Blitz smiled and carried his friend over to a small alleyway, hoping to hide him from harm a moment. He didn't notice the emerald energies radiating from his quills into Ash's body. '_Refreshing day,_' he thought, though his grip slackened suddenly as a hand caught him by the throat and threw the two against a wall. _'Shit!'_ He shivered, feeling his quills stab into the younger hedgehog he'd been carrying.

"Oh good, you get to do in your own buddy there," Metal Espio said sardonically. His other fist gripped the fine chest fur of the purple hedgehog and shoved him firmly against the wall.

"Shit..." Blitz fought against the metal grip, trying desperately not to impale his friend any further. The emerald light began to glow more brightly now, the odd illumination even reaching his green eyes.

"Cut it out right now," the false chameleon ordered, his red eyes glinting dangerously.

"Heyyyy! What's going on?" The metal bee flew up to the chameleon, still trying to dislodge the ball. "Eww, you're messy…." He frowned at the blood.

"I..." Blitz gasped but was shoved into his friend all the more; he could feel the outline of the emerald in his quills now pressed against his back. He hadn't had a chance to return it to Shadow; the older black and red hedgehog would've been able to use it. '_Chaos control...it's not that..hard...'_

"Nnnng..."

The pained and dazed noise did not escape Blitz's sensitive ears. "..Ash?"

"No!" Metal Espio growled furiously. "No...you are going to die and you're not going to get a chance to do any Chaos shit!" His blood red robotic eyes seemed to glow, though the emerald mist looming in the air was beginning to frighten him. He let go of Blitz's throat and took out one of his kunai, ready to cut him down.

Somewhere in the fog of Ash's mind, he could feel something calling him. '_Wake up…your friends need you...I need you.'_ It was a pulse running through him that was not his own, a power he'd used only a fraction of. Was it the emerald speaking to him, or was his heart speaking through the emerald? He just knew that the emerald glow was filling him. His body started to become aware that it was bleeding, of the warmth of his life attempting to trickle away, of the stabbing pain...but there was the emerald. _'Heal...healing...'_ Maria had done that once.

In a very swift movement, Ash jerked Blitz aside, Metal Espio's weapon digging into the black marked hedgehog's shoulder. "That hurts, you know..." His voice wasn't strong, but it was there, and it was cold. His hands were on Blitz's shoulders and he pushed away, the spines leaving his body and the blood flowing more freely. He moved a hand through the blood-stained quills, drawing the emerald from its hiding place. The energy now flew freely around his body, the wounds somehow sealing themselves.

"Feh...it'll be more than a flesh wound when I'm through with you...Eggman needs that gem…." Metal Espio's tail whipped about in an agitated fashion. "Give it…." He tossed the bladed weapon, but it met the emerald air and was reduced to floating specks of rust, which landed in a pile on the ground. _'He only has one emerald...this isn't possible…._"

When Ash opened his eyes, they had turned from crimson to a molten gold. He wasn't super, he wasn't indestructible, but while the emerald vapor hung in the air, his body healed at a rapid pace. It would fade quickly, he knew that. He only had one emerald... _'If this is what just one emerald's power can do…no wonder Dad wears limiters….'_ He rubbed his wrist where there should have been a limiter idly, then looked at the stunned bots. He took a deep breath. _'Here we go.'_


	24. Is This How it Ends?

It had been a long time coming. For all the times Sonic and Metal had clashed, he never seemed to really destroy him. Was it a hero's mercy, or a cruel fate to leave one's opponent alive? Maybe it was vanity, as the hedgehog was made in Sonic's own image. Whatever it was, the blue hedgehog always had the feeling that behind the void metal eyes, there was a kind of soul looking at him.

The desire for destruction was etched in the robot's eyes, his own if he could take Sonic with him. The time for witty remarks had passed, and the battle began unceremoniously as Metal Sonic took a few shots at Sonic, the bullets coming from several holes in his outstretched palm. Predictably, Sonic had taken the aerial approach, and he lifted the firepower skyward.

Metal Amy shrieked indignantly as stray bullets deflected off her pristine paint job. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Looks like the honeymoon's over," the real Amy snorted and took the opportunity to attempt bashing her with the hammer.

Sonic spun in the air, his quills brushing aside each shot. He hung in the air a moment before his body hurtled toward Metal Sonic, but he quickly disappeared from his field of vision. The hedgehog knew better than to stay still with him being so serious and went into a spin dash the second his feet hit the ground. The crashing sound of the building giving way under Metal's feet reached his ears from where he'd touched down only a moment ago.

"You'll never beat _me_ or _my_ Sonic!" Amy insisted to her copy, her heart racing in her chest. She'd only caught a glimpse of the fight so far, but she knew this was serious. She tried to shut out her reflexive desire to help him, knowing she would only be in the way. Her fight was before her, red eyes glinting menacingly at her and holding her hammer still in the air.

Metal Amy laughed. "I won't have to...but I'm sure Metal wouldn't mind my help after you're dead." The pink Robot could have used her force and pushed the brat to the side, a number of inventive ways of dispatching her running through her processes. "It's interesting...your weapon...what is it? Because my Sensors see it and don't see it; it shouldn't exist."

"My will," Amy said with gritted teeth. Physical force, she was outclassed. Whether it was psychic energy or not, the hammer glowed with an eerie energy that also reflected in Amy's green eyes like electricity. A bright flare sprouted from it, momentarily blinding the metal one. As soon as the pressure on her broke, Amy ran through the light and swung the hammer and herself like a top, connecting with the robot and throwing her into the already mangled antenna tower. _'Sonic...hold on...I'll help you this time!'_

The homing attack barrage was getting old. Maybe the great Sonic the hedgehog had run out of tricks at last. Metal Sonic had seen him bounce like a ball, fly at him in gravity-defying ways, and more. It seemed like it would be too little and too late this time, as the robot evaded every blow. He led the hedgehog higher and higher, giving him small projectiles to bash, giving him the edge up, until they were higher than the tallest buildings in Gate City. Below, Amy and her copy were small metal flecks and nothing more. A fall from this height would even be a problem for Sonic; this was...too easy.

"How many consecutive homing attacks is that?" Metal Sonic asked as Sonic came to the peak of his latest attack.

"99," Sonic replied without hesitation, his body spinning somehow faster than before. Sonic hurled himself at the mecha, who shifted position slightly and jabbed upward with his clawed hand, connecting with Sonic's stomach, much to the fleshy Mobian's surprise. "Guh…."

Metal Sonic hung in the air just out of homing attack's range while everything started to move in slow motion for Sonic. Without an emerald, that was a bad sign. "That means you've now missed 100 times." He drew back his metal hand, the blood clinging to his finger tips, and smiled at it. This was what he wanted. It could be quick and clean like this, and he would humiliate him too, but inside he knew this couldn't yet be the end. "See if you can do that again."

Sonic felt the pain of the blow surge through his body, which had uncurled at the impact. _'Shit...how'd he do that...?'_ His eyes widened and he just now noticed how high they were. _'Idiot…let him lead you..'_ Sonic gave a shallow laugh. His body began to descend. If he couldn't catch something in time, control himself, he'd be street pizza on impact. Of course, Metal was the nearest target. Instead of pulling himself into the expected ball, he twisted his body like a corkscrew, drilling forward in the air and lightly tagging a surprised Metal's foot with one hand. He followed the movement and flung himself like a child on a swing before reversing his position and coming down on the metal creation, foot outstretched for a hard and heavy blow to its neck.

A small crimson rain fell on the two Amys as they fought, and the real one felt her heart seize up, guessing rightly where it had come from. "So much for your boyfriend," the pale copy mocked without even looking skyward.

"Don't you know…." Amy said, her voice tight and body trembling.

"Eh?" Metal Amy had backed up, her malleable weapon forming into a pike on a chain, the sickle end remaining, which she swung idly. "What?"

"Heh...you can do what you want to the hero...just don't hurt their friends or family." A couple of tears washed up in Amy's clear green eyes, blurring her vision. Metal Amy gave a mocking laugh while springing toward Amy, but she didn't care. She threw the hammer up in the air, and it spun as it went, until she leapt up in the air after it, grabbing the handle deftly and swinging down on it with all her might. She closed her eyes as metal and roofing crunched and sparks flew, a few of them singing the hedgehog's vision. It moved, it sparked, but she did what she could and it soon ran out of power...forever. "...Bitch."

Amy wiped her eyes, and when she opened them again, blood and tears clung to her gloved hands. She looked skyward where Sonic and Metal were, helpless to follow them. _'Please win….'_ Anything she could say would be a distraction, so the Rose held her tongue hoping and praying this would end the way she wanted.

Sonic's plan to glide down on Metal had the annoying flaw that Metal wasn't cooperating. If Sonic's footing slipped or missed, he'd be meeting the pavement even faster than before, and Metal kept flying higher or flinging him skyward. If this kept up, there'd be an atmospheric and temperature problem the hedgehog had no solution for. His breathing had already quickened just due to the damage he was taking.

"I'd ask you to give up," Metal said complacently, "but I'm enjoying being on the winning side for a change." He raked his claws along Sonic's chest as he spun by in another screw attack.

Sonic winced but would not scream. "Ha...I bet…. Whew...Eggman did a job on you this time," he breathed heavily. The metal robot flew beside him, just out of arm's reach, teasing, taunting...he knew he was the only way down to safety. "Too bad he didn't program you with the concept of mercy…." Sonic heaved and pulled a new move, axe blow. He spun like he did for a homing attack, but this time brought himself down sharply regardless of there being anything below him. The swan dive saw him standing on Metal's face, covering his optic sensors; the heat at his heels told him quickly to avoid the eye lasers, but at least he'd brought him down a bit. He jumped quickly, a beam of light shooting skyward seconds later.

"Hmph...sorry, not this time." Metal Sonic shrugged. From holes at his finely designed metal quills, small timed bombs were released, and he let himself drop sharply below the micro bombs.

Sonic repeated his axe move, his body falling below the explosives, the boom causing his heart to race faster. _'I can't keep it up if he keeps beatin' me, but he's so tough...I haven't even scratched him….'_

"GET OFF!" This time Metal was angry as he fired against the blow.

Sonic noticed the beam didn't fire straight up, and he went into the tightest spin he could manage. Pain surged against him, and he fought back, gritting his teeth and slamming down into Metal Sonic's face once more. The saw-blade action caused sparks and shrapnel to fly, but from the wavering arms, Sonic was sure his adversary was now blind.

"**No...**" Metal Sonic growled. As Sonic's feet left him, he gave a wild swing upward, his claw hand connecting with fur and flesh, Sonic crying out against the new and bitter pain. "That's right..." Metal cut his power and kept ahold of whatever he had grabbed. His other hand managed to take hold of one of Sonic's legs, and tightened around it in a vice grip. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide..." There was a satisfaction in the sounds of bones snapping under the pressure of his grip; he could fall to his doom, and take Sonic out...that was enough.

"**Sonic!!**" Amy's voice pleaded anxiously as she watched the two fall. They were several buildings away from where they started; there was no way she could reach him. "Sonic! Please!!" _'Please...High One...'_

For Sonic, it was no longer about running away; that was impossible. But if Metal kept his grip on him, the two would both go up in smoke. "Heh...so...this is how it ends?" Sonic closed his eyes a minute. "Hey, Metal?" There was no answer, and the ground kept getting closer as the seconds ticked. "...You win."

Maybe the words surprised Metal. Sonic would never admit defeat, would he? _'I win….'_ The robot thought. His grip slackened and he let go, purpose fulfilled. _'I won...'_

Sonic shifted his descent now, grabbing onto a flag pole for starters, and using its momentum to hurl him (clumsily) toward a clothesline hanging out an apartment window. The explosion of Metal Sonic as his power core ruptured behind him caused him to falter a bit, though he managed to keep his grip, relief washing over him. He looked over at the burn mark on the pavement, a bit of loss in his eyes. Metal had always obsessed over his destruction, but to take himself out in doing so? At least Sonic was still alive…at least for now. He attempted to pull himself up, no longer paying attention to what he was doing. His grip slipped, or maybe a quill, but he was flat on his back when Amy found him on the pavement below.

Sonic thought he heard crying as he let his mind drift away from the pain. A numbness started to wash over him, and he heard something as consciousness eroded into vapor. _"Emergency? This is Amy Rose…."_

* * *

Kit had proved himself as excellent a pilot as Shadow was proving a good shot, having reign over the Typhoon's weapons. Eggman had scrambled his small but elite fleet to shoot them out of the sky. It was as if Shadow were flying with Tails, as the pilot flew circles around the enemy planes and shot them out of the sky. He showed off a few smart bombs and weapons he'd designed, all of which he eagerly used against the robot fleet.

With two ace pilots to take care of, and Station Square's authorities now alert to the floating threat, even their forces were starting to arrive on the scene. _"This is Agent Topaz, Tails, do you read me?"_

"Loud n' clear!" the two-tailed fox spoke into his radio headset. _'They really need to upgrade their communications,'_ he thought.

_"We are about to engage Eggman's forces. We will be providing cover fire for you and your...friend."_

Tails laughed. "That would be my son and Shadow in the green plane. Thanks for the help!" the older fox replied proudly, the wings on his plane suddenly folding in a bit and streamlining its design. "Hear that, guys? We're going in!"

As the Tornado flew into the gaping maw of Eggman's hangar, it transformed into a humanoid robot, its secondary engine suddenly forming into part of a large bazooka-cannon thing and firing straight at Metal Fang's head.

* * *

Ash found himself in and out of time as long as the power lasted with him. He could see Metal Espio's every movement, a fist launched at him for starters, like it were slow motion. His actions weren't dulled at all, however, as he used his foe's weight and momentum against him, flinging him into the very wall he'd had him and Blitz pinned against moments before.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Metal Charmy said, finally ridding himself of the soccer ball. He was charging up for a big attack, but Ash simply sent him into Metal Espio, the explosion it caused taking care of both.

"...Whoa. Dude, that was...wow," Blitz remarked, finally settling down from the excitement. The sonic booms coming from the hovercraft were not reassuring, and he snapped his neck over to it. "Oh shit...Rift!"

Ash hardly heard his friend but turned just the same. While Blitz ran at full speed to get to the vehicle, the blue and black hedgehog felt as though he were walking, no more. They arrived at the same time, on either side of the craft, both of them feeling a great pressure release from the booming crocodile robot. Blitz treated the craft like a can of tuna and raced a sonic spin around its rim, Ash finishing the job by flicking the heavy top away as easily as one flicks off a gnat.

Metal Vector growled at having been disrupted, Rift's body hanging limply over the edge of the half destroyed pilot's seat. "Metal Espio! Metal Charmy! Where the hell are you guys?!"

"Sorry," Ash apologized sarcastically, even as he dodged the sound waves Vector's copy had sent at him from his headset. He saw them as white glowing rings and saw fit to avoid them.

"Rift! Rift! Ya okay?" Blitz shook his brother with a measure of concern at the various lacerations and bruises. Rift backhanded Blitz, thinking for a moment that he was the robot instead, his green eyes locked on him in terror for a moment. "Rift...come on!"

The words were lost on the deaf hedgehog, but seeing Ash fighting him gave some measure of comfort. He grabbed his brother in a hug and began to cry, perhaps out loud, he didn't know. He wanted out of there in the worst way; if his father really had faced these types before he was stronger stuff than him.

"You can go," Ash said. The rippling Chaos that protected him rusted and made brittle any metal it touched. Metal Vector was beginning to seize up even though the hedgehog's attacks would normally have come to little effect.

Blitz nodded. "Good luck," he said and rushed his brother to the nearest hospital.

"You...bastard…." Metal Vector opened his gaping maw and let forth another sonic blast, only to find a fist punch clean through his head.

"Sorry...there's something I have to do." He turned his head to where the egg carrier had been. It was gone. While Ash knew it was now in Station Square, he couldn't just bound up buildings to get to it. "_Chaos Control!"_

* * *

Kit had decided to stay in the air battle, so the dark hedgehog had to jump to his goal. Shadow had flown from the Typhoon the moment its hatch was open, guns blazing. He gave little attention to the showdown between Tails and his own metal clone, or the blown-up remains of Metal Fang. He was there to find his son, and nothing was going to hold him back.

The explosive rounds from the latest guns Tails had developed for him easily took care of any doors and most of the non-sentient robots. When that failed, quills worked. When that failed, he could sense the Chaos Emeralds nearby, so a Chaos Spear or Wind was enough to break them apart.

Since the dark hedgehog didn't know his way around this latest ship, he'd just have to search it end to end. That idea agreed with him very much as he tore through bots and doors as if they weren't there. Eventually he came to the Chaos chamber and found it looked very much like the one on the Ark, complete with a metal copy of him in the center.

"So you finally made it?" the metal robot said, his crimson and black eyes staring at his original for the first time.

"I guess." Shadow shrugged. He aimed both guns at the robot, the explosives impacting its white mockery of a chest. Aside singing off fake fur, it did nothing to him. Not surprising, or the fact that he was rushed by the copy following it. Both guns were flung at the offending robot; one striking him in the head and causing him to falter. "So what do you want?" Shadow asked after getting to a safer area of the room.

"The same thing all of us want," Metal Shadow replied and spun to face his opponent. "We want to fulfill our programming. That means me defeating you."

Shadow darted out of the way of another attack, the glass shield around the red Chaos Emerald shattering. He could feel its power reaching out to him. "Sorry, I'm just here to find my son."

"Oh...you mean the kid with blue and black quills?" Metal inquired. He noticed the interest in the emerald and pulled the red jewel from its pedestal.

"Yeah. Where is he?" Shadow commanded darkly.

"Well, dead…I think." Metal Sonic shrugged and grinned. It was his turn to dodge away from one of Shadow's homing attacks, the case to the silver emerald breaking away.

"Where is he?" Shadow's temper flared dangerously in his eyes, and he attacked the copy across the room, breaking every piece of glass present, all to mad laughter.

"Beat me, and I might tell you...kid said I talk more than you, though." Metal Shadow held the red emerald purposefully and issued a command of Chaos Control, blinking behind Shadow and kicking him into a wall.

"...How..." Shadow started in amazement. No robot had ever used Chaos Control before. Oh sure, they could manipulate the emeralds in some ways, but never like that.

"Willpower." Shadow's copy shrugged. "Metal Sonic and I have wills of our own that go beyond programming. Eggman doesn't know what it is himself, but a robot with a will can decide how to use an emerald, not just affect its neutral properties." He flexed his clawed fingers and issued another Chaos Control; this time, Shadow mirrored him with the yellow emerald in hand.

* * *

Tails had to leave behind his robot ride, but not for size considerations, as the corridors were generously proportioned for larger robots than that. It was the fact that the plane was his way off the ship, and he didn't want his baby damaged anymore than it already had been.

The mecha could guard itself anyway. Metal Rouge and Nack were down for the count, and Metal Knuckles was about to go down, as he cautiously approached the robot armor that Tails had used moments before his arrival to cause mass damage to his "friends." Despite being a robot, he shared more with Knuckles than a temper. He also had a kind of loathing and wonder at technology. Trying to figure out the Tornado was his last mistake, though, as the thing brought a heavy metal foot down on his head, then chucked him out the open hatch.

Tails plugged a device like a wristwatch into one of the computer terminals he passed, now having a clear map of the complex. He followed the true map all the way to the cockpit, where Eggman was sipping tea in his seat idly. "Eggman!" The master of robots spun in his seat and grinned at him, sipping his tea idly. "You have something I want," the genius said after a moment of silence. _'Something's not right here….'_

"I do, do I?" Eggman heaved a sigh. "Looks bad for me, doesn't it? My air force is being taken down by Station Square's...my robots are being destroyed one by one. I think Shadow just stole my emeralds. But it doesn't matter. You know why?" Tails' expression sank a bit. "Well, it's just that I have the most important piece: a hostage." He snapped his fingers, and Kunoichi reluctantly came forward with Tails' daughter, a kunai held at her throat.

"I'm sorry," Kunoichi said to the girl with some regret in her tone. As much as she was pleased for doing Eggman's bidding, there was a kind of hollow victory to it as she now threatened the girl's life.

"Let me go...please..." Tracey begged, pulling against her restraints, a mist of tears forming in her eyes.

"You wouldn't..." Tails said darkly.

"Oh I would." Eggman shrugged. He smiled a bit, seeing Metal Tails stroll up behind the original. "Oh and by the way...you missed one." Tails whirled around quickly, then dodged out of the way of his metal doppelganger. "Ah ah ah...not so fast!" Eggman smiled broadly.

"...What do you want…." Tails glared defiantly.

Kunoichi looked a bit apologetic at the scene. She could feel Tracey try to struggle, even though it had left a small red stain on her blade. "Hey...stop it..." she whispered quietly to the girl. "I really will kill you if you keep this up...!"

"I think...I need more than my own genius to win, so I'm making an offer…." Eggman began.

"I can't…." Tracey said quietly. "I have to escape...Papa…."

"I don't want to hurt you…." E-91 admitted to the vixen.

"Then help me...please!" the girl whined.

Something snapped within Kunoichi as a desire beyond programming shook her. "_If there's anything you ever want more than Eggman's orders, take it."_ The words Metal Sonic once said to her returned to her recent memory, and if she could, she would have wept. _'There is something I want….' _While Eggman and Tails spoke, there was a quick ringing sound of metal scraping metal, and a gasp of surprise from Tracey as her bonds were set free. Kunoichi moved fast, a blinding speed as the lynx robot launched herself at Metal Tails and struck him with her twin kunai.

"Kunoichi!!" Eggman bellowed at her, but it was too late, and the doctor shrunk back against his seat, seeming older and grayer than he ever had. "Damn it...I finally make robots capable of thinking and..."

Tails didn't go to his daughter immediately but looked pityingly on the old man before him. "If you'd just used your abilities for good...you know? We always worked well when it was a common goal." Tails' words had a kind ring behind them as he went to gather up his daughter. "Come on. We're going home."

Alarms started blaring around them, and Eggman gave them a grim smile, "Sorry. Maybe some other time…or place...or dimension...it might have been possible. Oh and...good luck."

"Master..." E-91 looked back at Eggman, but he waved her off. She looked over at Tails and his daughter. "The self-destruct has been armed."

"Then let's go." Tails motioned, and the three of them left the aging scientist to his fate.

"Eggman-sama? What are you going to do now?" the thin golden humanoid robot asked after they were gone.

"You aren't really going to blow everything up, are you?" the more portly Bocoe asked.

Eggman shrugged. "Hey, how about we go take over Hawaii, or Florida?" Eggman suggested in a lackluster tone. "I've been a very foolish man; I suppose Nega was right about me after all. Bah."

* * *

Chaos Control brought Ash to his father's side, the emerald aura that had protected him moments before evaporating as his power was spent. "Didn't I tell you to wear your limiter?" Shadow asked quietly.

"Sorry, Pops..." Ash said humbly.

"Limiter?" Metal Shadow quirked a curious brow.

"Eggman still doesn't know about those, eh? Well, I guess he couldn't copy them on a robot," Shadow said idly as he unclipped the limiter on his left wrist and handed it over to his son, a raw, dim emerald light beginning to flare dangerously around him.

The room turned red with flashing sirens moments later. "Ahh. Well, doesn't matter what you think. You've gathered the emeralds so I should thank you." Metal Shadow grinned. He raised his hands skyward and gave a shout, the seven emeralds reacting with negative energies and filling his metal body. "_**Yes...! Like Metal Sonic...I can do this...I can become the destroyer of worlds!"**_ Metal's voice echoed dangerously as his body began to grow and change.

Shadow shook his head. "Forget about it for now." He restrained Ash from putting the band on.

"He's...oh shit..." Ash backed up into the hall, as Shadow did, the metal structure buckling, but the emeralds rotating in the air responded and followed Shadow once Metal was done with it.

"They always think bigger is better. Care to show them otherwise?" he asked casually as the emeralds began to rotate around the two hedgehogs. Ash nodded.

The pair followed the now gold and red monstrosity. Though he was bigger, his construction was now more streamlined. It was like something out of a Godzilla or King Kong movie. Metal Shadow had gained stature and power, the military planes being called off as their shots proved ineffective. The real Shadow was glad to see the Typhoon and the Tornado were still kicking.

"How are we gonna defeat that?" Ash shuddered as it brought down buildings with lasers out of its eyes and sent barrages of missiles at the last of its resistance. Even Tails' aerial skills were put to the test with this one.

"You have seven emeralds circling you and no limiters, and you have to wonder?" Shadow shook his head and laughed.

"What about Tracey?" Ash inquired at last, remembering why he'd come.

"She'll be waiting. I'm sure of it." He unclipped the other three limiters he had, and a black and emerald light formed, thick and hard as diamonds yet somehow fluid around the pair. For a minute, the emeralds themselves seemed to have been swallowed by the darkness. When it broke, the emeralds went flying in all directions, and two shining creatures came from its midst; one a shining platinum and silver, the other, silver and black.

Ash had never felt power like this before, and neither had Shadow. The buildings cracked and crumbled from the sheer magnitude of power in play. "We have one shot at this," Shadow said calmly as Metal Shadow finally caught sight of them. "Go."


	25. End Game

Maria stood and strode over to the window of her house on Mobius. An emerald flew past in a sparkling, rainbow streak. Chase was at his mate's side a moment later, having put down a manual on Extreme Gear repairs, respectively to his preferred series of boards.

"Something up?" the orange hedgehog asked softly, putting an arm around her.

"Oh..." Maria started, twitching an ear lightly. "I just got this...feeling." She looked up into the night sky, clear and full of twinkling stars.

He lightly licked behind her left ear, then kissed her cheek. "Yes? What kind of feeling?"

"Ohhh..." Maria thought about it. The emerald had rippled through her with a kind of feeling, and she was trying to place it. "I think... the emeralds are happy."

"The emeralds?" Chase asked curiously.

She nodded and leaned against her mate. "They feel like singing. Whoever just used them, they like them."

He wasn't sure what to think as he looked into the ruby eyes of his love. Speaking to emeralds? Singing? He didn't have any idea how true that could be, but he knew the emeralds' power was real, and if one just flew by, they'd been used in some tremendous way. "So how do you get to know so much?"

She chuckled. "I just do."

* * *

On Earth, Metal Shadow had just struck the finishing blow to the Egg Fort 4. While the ship was doomed to begin with, he slammed his giant metal feet down on it, plunging it to the street below. He and the two super forms remained floating.

He stared down grimly at the two floating beings and went to swat at them much like flies. "**Think you can defeat me?**" Metal Shadow laughed.

While the metal Goliath stood down two small Davids, a certain two-tailed fox was cleaning up his end of the battle. _"Back off, Kit."_ Tails' voice carried to the Typhoon. _"I know you're an ace pilot, beyond a doubt, but that's something we can't fight."_

"_Yes, Dad._" Kit said respectfully. "_You got Trace' back, right?"_

"_Yeah. And one more. Heh. I'm coming up behind you, you'll be taking Trace' to the MRC when we land, she got a little banged up,_" Tails called back.

Kit's curiosity was satisfied as soon as a very sexy looking lynx dropped into the back seat with his sister in her arms. He let out a low whistle. "_Yow. Well this is a surprise, isn't it?"_

Tails laughed. "_That's Kunoichi, E-91. A robot._"

Kit gave a defeated sigh and then a laugh of his own. "_Would be my luck, eh?"_ He looked over his shoulder, seeing his sister smile and the robot look confused. "Hi. I'm Kit, nice to meet ya. I would **so** like to take you apart some time."

"Excuse me?" the faux lynx started, confused.

Tracey laughed, "That is a coooorny pickup line, Bro."

"I know." He shrugged. "Well, Kunojaji or Moji or Monchhichi or whatever you are, you're welcome to stay with us," Kit said as he turned the Typhoon back toward the city.

"...Thank you," Kunoichi said with gratitude in her very convincing female voice.

Outside, a Chaos explosion issued. When Ash was struck by the giant metal monster, he refused to give ground. The Chaos within him flared out in an explosion that did little effect but stun it.

Shadow flew in and attacked Metal Shadow's ear, which wound up banging his head downward for a moment. **"Annoying fly!**" Super Metal growled irritably and went to swat Shadow away, smacking himself in the head.

"Don't use your power recklessly," Shadow said softly as he rejoined his son. "We only have a limited amount of power, so we need to use it well."

"What about him?" Ash asked as the two darted away from another swipe.

Shadow took a good long look at the metal creature and grinned. "Yeah. I think it's about time we pull the plug." He paused a moment in thought. Super Metal's hand came down again, but it stopped as if it had struck a concrete when it hit Super Shadow's topmost quill. It tried hitting him with its fists, but the hedgehog didn't move or act as though he'd been struck at all.

**"Why can I not hurt you?"** Super Metal growled irritably. While he didn't seem to be able to be hurt by the super hedgehog, the same was true in reverse.

"Oh sorry...were you talking to me?" Shadow smirked, then tilted his head to Ash. "His power core should be in his midsection. Try entering through his ears or jets, even his mouth, but I'm sure he's armed any place you could get in so make it fast."

Ash nodded in understanding and flew at Super Metal, who charged up lasers and shot missiles, all at the kid. Shadow intercepted the missiles and blasts. He'd absorbed far more energy than his son, so he could afford to "play" a bit. The boy timed his entry to the robot's system between laser fires and dove down into the darkness.

The core would be brightly illuminated, but his way there, not essentially so. The emeralds gave him a slight aura, which he used as a flashlight. He had to stop at times while the metal monster twisted and turned so he wouldn't get bashed around the inner walls. _'I might be able to hurt these wires….'_ he thought, and tested a spin through a series of cords. It worked.

Super Metal gave a cry like that of pain as some part of him was cut. Still, he didn't worry and focused on the external problem. The nanobots that Eggman had built into all his sentients sprang forth like spiders, a host of artificial white blood cells, come to cure him of disease.

"Oh shit..." Ash started and flew by them, a number of their own medical lasers far more capable of killing a normal Mobian at this proportionate level. He took flight, trying to avoid the swarm, some of them coming after him and undoubtedly calling more. _'I am so __**not**__ a hero!'_

The flash of green caught his eye, and he swerved sharply between some pivoting metal hoop, the function of which he had no clue, and headed for the light. At last, he'd found the core, brimming with stolen emerald power, flooding the chamber where a heart should have been in a sickly light. With the nanobots swarming around him, he could be easily overwhelmed. No time to hesitate. He summoned what power was left in him and struck the Chaos drive, shattering it and sending the liquid Chaos to fly and flare out.

Outside, Super Shadow had been pinned to a building as his own power began to fail. His metal opponent suddenly looked pale, if that were possible "**...No...**"

Shadow smiled slightly. "Yes." He watched as the paint job faded back to black and red. The Chaos ate at it like acid, then exploded outward so that Shadow had to shield himself against the heavy shrapnel. The city below had suffered worse than last time, and the darkened hedgehog felt some measure of guilt for that. _'If I were a real hero….'_ he thought. But he looked where the core exploded, Ash hanging there in the air. His own power was failing, and certainly the Chaos now left his son. He scooped him into his arms before his power ran out and lowered him onto a nearby building.

* * *

Sirens blared through both Station Square and Gate City that evening and well into the next day. It would be weeks, even months before the physical damage to the landscape was righted. As for injuries and lives lost in the battle, that was quite another matter.

Tracey, Blitz, and Amy had gotten off easily enough, none of them incurring any serious harm from their fights. Shadow, Kit, and Ash had gotten off without a scratch (though for the two hedgehogs that was due to the Chaos that powered them). Rift and Sonic were another matter entirely.

Hannah had come to visit the purple hedgehog as soon as she found out about the incident with anxious hugs and unheard assurances that it would be all right. Rift had incurred some internal damage from the sound waves, though the external wounds were not great. It was the damaged hearing that plagued him most. He dared not speak or raise his voice, afraid for the silence that greeted him. Oh, he could remember sound, but he didn't want to speak, let alone sing. While hope was offered that his hearing could be recovered with surgery and time (at least in part), it was enough to drive a wedge between him and the songstress, who eventually left him.

Sonic's loss was probably just as great. A concussion from his impact with the ground was the least of his damage, with cracked ribs, a crushed hip, shattered shin, and some spinal damage rendering him immobile. He tried to laugh it off in front of Amy, who wept at his side and stayed by him day and night, but it would be a good long road to recovery, and no hope among his doctors that it would ever be a full recovery. Chris and Helen Thorndyke had offered him and Rift both help if it came down to money in getting whatever help they needed, something both were grateful for.

Time had not been entirely unkind to the heroes or their children, however. Life had a way of going back to a rhythm and would eventually mend heartache as well as any broken bones. Sonic would run again, if not as fast, and Rift would hear again, if not as sharply.

Kit formed a fast friendship with Kunoichi; he was happy to have her around. While Fiona scolded him for taking interest in a robot, Tails just considered Kunoichi like a member of the family from the word go. The teen enjoyed looking at new technology and was getting a healthy appreciation for Eggman's more advanced robots.

Blitz' Gear races took him to the island a few times after the event, and not always under the guise of racing. He found Lara-su just as she'd left him, a fiery scamp with a love of danger. Having a bit of fighting experience now where it counted didn't hurt his standing with Guardian Knuckles. Even with any conflicts it might have with the older guardians, it wasn't like he didn't have his share of criticism for them. Blitz may have upped his importance in the battle just slightly, however….

* * *

Ash knocked at the door of the Prower residence, Kunoichi answering. He'd grown used to the sight of the artificial lynx, though a certain shiver ran through him at how realistic she looked. "Is Tracey in?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes. Want me to-" Kuno was cut off as the orange fox broke past her with a smile on her face.

"Hi, Ash." Her white cheeks took on a slightly flushed look.

"Hi, Trace." The hedgehog smiled at her with a hint of pride in his eyes. "Ready to go?" He offered her a hand.

She took it lightly and almost stumbled off the front step. He was there to catch her, and a smile lit in her eyes. "Thanks."

The robot watched in confusion as the two stepped out into the night. She only then noticed that the pair were dressed in nice clothing. "May I ask what turned her into a weak-kneed giggly teen?" the robot inquired of Kit, who stood idly next to her with a grin on his face.

"She's in love," he replied with a shrug.

"I'm afraid that one still escapes me…." Kuno frowned a bit.

"Not a problem," Kit assured her. "Won't be long, I think, before those two are official."

"And you?" Kuno looked at the silver-eyed boy. "Is there someone _you_ love?"

Kit's cheeks turned red and he looked away. "Ohh…well..." He coughed. "Hey, I was doing some research on one of Eggman's old roboticizers. You know there's a theory that metal can be made flesh? If he really did turn Mobians into robots, I think it's poss..." he trailed off and dug his foot into the carpet. "Anyway, I think it's time for dinner."

Kunoichi followed the teen to the dining room, a strange sense of peace washing over her. _'He cares for me, doesn't he?'_ she thought.

* * *

Shadow and his family sat in the waiting room of Mobotropolis' Acorn Hospital. It was much like any other waiting room Shadow had been in, complete with comfortable seating, soft colors, and tables full of magazines. This time around, he was smart enough not to touch the various pamphlets on disease and illness, lest he get paranoid. He favored keeping his arms around Sara and the small black and red child sleeping in her lap. It helped him relax, and he really needed too anyway; the _other_ side of the family was there as well. It was different, however, in that it was built for Mobians, and though the ceiling was tall enough, only the couches could have handled larger guests.

It was an orange hedgehog's turn to pace back and forth while a pale blue and gray hedgehog smiled at him from behind a paper he was reading. "Calm down, Chase, Maria will be fine," he encouraged.

"I...I know, Chuck, it's...she's…." Chase's face filled with worry and helplessness.

"So pacing's going to help?" Shadow asked calmly, his thumb lightly stroking Ayame's ear.

"Easy for you to say," he sighed. "Sara's done having kids…."

Shadow gave him a somewhat icy look through his crimson eyes and leaned against Sara. "Maybe."

"I think he means he's worried about Maria too." She leaned back against Shadow gently. "Grandbabies..." Sara chuckled. "Oh my, I'm only thirty four..."

"Thirty-five here," Chase's father, long hated of Shadow, spoke up with a slight smile. Duo kept an arm around his yellow mate Raye and was glad she was there too. He was sure the family get-together in a waiting room would be much different if it was "just the guys."

"And that makes me a great grandfather." Charles smiled.

"How old are you anyway?" Ash asked from where he'd been sitting. It was rather late, and so all were tired. Tracey had curled up with her head on his lap, the two having recently become mates.

"Ohh...fifty four." The graying hedgehog shrugged. To humans this might have seemed young, but as Mobians could mate as early as 12, the generation gaps were smaller. Waiting until he was 20 was more than old enough to have a child.

_'I'm older,' _Shadow thought inwardly. "If you want to do something for her, go to her," he said more at Chase than to Chase.

The younger orange hedgehog stopped pacing like a lunatic for a moment and let his quills rest from the bristling they'd been doing since he and Maria had arrived. He took a deep breath. "Yeah...you're right."

As he was trying to retreat into the birthing center, a porcupine nurse came to greet them with a smile on her face. "Mr. Chase?" she greeted warmly, to his nodding, dumbstruck face. "It's a girl…and a boy."

"T-twins?!" He just about fainted but that Shadow of all people caught him.

_'We will not speak of this again….'_ "How's Maria?" Shadow asked.

"Tired but happy," the porcupine replied. "She's being moved to a recovery room with the pups," she applyed a little used Mobian term for most mammal offspring. "She can receive guests in about fifteen minutes."

When at last the group was called to visit the new mother and children, Shadow lagged behind everyone, with an arm curled around Sara warmly. "You're being really calm and patient for once," she said softly. "Aliens kidnap you or something?" she joked.

"No." Shadow nuzzled her ear and smiled toward her and the infant in her arms.

"So you don't want to be the first to see _our grandkids_?" She smirked. Ayame began to stir and shifted positions, using a chunk of mommy's hair-quills to pull herself up.

"It's not that…it's just…." He pulled Ayame's hand from his mate's hair, the child looking up at her papa with a smile. "..Little things no longer bother me."

"I'm glad," Sara said softly, shifting the child in her arms so that they both wound up supporting her as they walked down the halls. "But I'd hardly call grandchildren 'little things'."

Little things could spark something big, and in the right circumstances they could bloom into something beautiful. A little thing like a case of mistaken identity had led to years of love, laughter, and enjoyment that far outweighed any pain and tears that had shaped it. Little wonder he could smile more easily or appreciate the little things that now filled his life.

--The End


End file.
